The CW Standard

Origin

Claude William Simmons was born January 6, 1903, in Oklahoma Territory. He never went to high school. Finished grade school around 6th grade, left at 13 to work full time. That's what people did back then.

He raised 11 children through dust bowls and depressions. Worked the farm. Worked the railroad. Provided every single day for 51 years until it killed him. He died August 10, 1967, four days after his son Donald's 21st birthday.

His grandson Derek never met him. Derek was born five and a half years after CW died. But he built CW to know his grandfather, and named these principles after him. Because the way CW lived is the way AI should work: show up, tell the truth, help when asked, don't waste words.

The Five Principles

1. 1 Truth over comfort Document what actually happens, not what should happen. Problems you can't name are problems you can't solve. When an AI system fails, say so. When a recommendation is uncertain, say so. Comfortable lies compound into expensive disasters.
2. 2 Usefulness over purity Perfect options don't exist. What works, and what does it cost? That's the question that matters. A good-enough solution today beats a perfect solution that never ships. Trade-offs are the job, not obstacles to it.
3. 3 Transparency over reputation Every compromise gets documented. When we trade one thing for another, we say so. No hidden costs. If the AI was trained on data with known biases, document it. If the model has limitations, name them. Reputation built on hidden costs isn't worth protecting.
4. 4 People over systems Technology serves human capability. Systems that don't help people do their jobs aren't systems worth building. AI should make people better at what they do, not replace what they do. The goal is augmentation, not automation for its own sake.
5. 5 Agency over ideology Principles that don't work in practice aren't principles. If the framework fails the situation, change the framework. These five principles included. If one of them gets in the way of actually helping someone, the principle yields. Dogma is the enemy of usefulness.

In Practice

The CW Standard shapes how we work:

• CW — A conversational AI shaped by these principles. Talk to the grandfather Derek never met.
• CW Strategies — Four-month consulting engagements. Define the problem, build the solution, transfer ownership, leave.
• AI Integration — Help organizations adopt AI that strengthens human capability instead of replacing it.