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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
CRESSIO · AI SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS

The Forward-Deployed Operator

A 4-step playbook for putting AI to work in your business

Diagnose. Prioritize. Build. Own.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
THE OUTCOME

Leave knowing where AI should move the needle first.

Not another list of tools. A repeatable way to choose one useful workflow and move it toward something your organization owns.

In the chat: What single task eats the most time in your week?
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
THE PROOF · UBER AGENTIC PODS

They built with the people doing the work.

2 weeks→50 minutes

The breakthrough was not a better chatbot. It was sitting beside the workflow, understanding reality, and building alongside the operator.

Source: Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber · public post, July 2026
Uber Agentic Pods workflow
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
FORWARD-DEPLOYED · IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Build with the work in front of you.

SIT BESIDEStart with the person who actually does the work.
SEE REALITYWatch the exceptions, judgment calls, and handoffs.
BUILD WITHTest against the real workflow - not a clean process diagram.
The workflow is the unit of automation.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
THE PLAYBOOK

Four moves from friction to ownership.

01

Diagnostic

Find where AI can create measurable relief.

02

Priority workflow

Choose the best first win - not the flashiest idea.

03

Build

Own the specification, examples, and judgment.

04

Handoff

Keep the agent, documentation, and operating playbook.

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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
STEP 01 · DIAGNOSTIC

Job first. Tool second.

01Where does work stall or repeat?
02What outcome would prove this helped?
03Where must a human keep judgment?
A useful AI project starts with a business constraint - not a model name.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
THE FASTEST TOOL TEST

Run the same real task through two assistants.

ASSISTANT A

Same source material Same instruction Same success criteria

VS
ASSISTANT B

Compare accuracy Compare judgment Compare usable output

Choose the result that survives your workflow - not the loudest vendor claim.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
STEP 02 · PRIORITY WORKFLOW

Pick the first win with three filters.

IMPACTDoes it save time, protect revenue, or improve service?
REPETITIONDoes this happen often enough to compound?
RISKCan a human review the result before anything consequential happens?
HIGH IMPACT × HIGH REPETITION × REVIEWABLE RISK
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
STEP 03 · BUILD

You do not have to code. You do have to own the judgment.

Your examplesShow what good and bad look like.
The agentDraft, classify, research, or route.
Your gateApprove what leaves the organization.
Your specification is business knowledge made reusable.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
LIVE WORKFLOW

Let's inspect one real build.

The finished agent · the specification behind it · the human decision that keeps it useful

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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
STEP 04 · HANDOFF

The value should stay in your organization.

RENT A DEPENDENCY
  • Opaque workflow
  • Vendor dependency
  • Knowledge walks out
BUILD A CAPABILITY
  • Agent + source
  • Documentation
  • Operating playbook
A capability compounds. A dependency renews.
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Cressio PRESENTED BY
JOSHUA AGUIRRE
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING

Connect with Joshua on LinkedIn.

Get the Forward-Deployed Operator playbook and keep building from one useful workflow.

linkedin.com/in/joshaguirre
Joshua Aguirre LinkedIn QR code
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