Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory Cannon.
Hi Cory, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started Cannon-Lear Enterprises because I wanted a single holding company that could bring structure and long-term sustainability to the different missions our family is building. My background is rooted in more than two decades of military service, followed by senior Knowledge Management and data-focused roles across the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Across every environment, the lesson was consistent: when organizations treat knowledge as a strategic asset, decision-making improves, execution becomes more reliable, and results become repeatable. That is what ultimately pushed me to build a business structure that could scale that kind of impact beyond government and into industry.
Cannon-Lear Enterprises is the umbrella. Under it, KnocoUSA and Knoco International are the professional organizations where I focus most of my day-to-day work. The mission there is straightforward: help organizations improve performance through practical Knowledge Management, governance, knowledge transfer, lessons learned, and increasingly AI readiness. AI has made the value of good Knowledge Management even more visible, because the quality of AI outputs depends heavily on the quality, credibility, and accessibility of the knowledge behind it. My work is centered on making that knowledge trusted, traceable, and usable.
A Time 2 Remember is also part of the Cannon-Lear family, but it is important to be clear that it is primarily my wife Jessica’s focus and effort. She leads the heart and the hands-on work of that mission. I support it fully, but she is the one driving the vision, daily operations, and the care that makes it real. Including it under the holding company is intentional: it gives the rescue a stable structure and helps ensure that the mission can grow responsibly over time.
When you look at the story as a whole, it is really about building a structure that matches our values. Cannon-Lear Enterprises exists to keep our efforts aligned and sustainable: my work scaling professional services through KnocoUSA and Knoco International, and Jessica’s work leading A Time 2 Remember. Different missions, one framework, and a shared commitment to doing meaningful work with integrity.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, but it has been a meaningful one.
One of the biggest struggles has been building something real while also being deliberate about doing it the right way. When you come out of military and government environments, you are used to clear authorities, defined structures, and mission alignment. In the private sector, you have to create all of that from scratch, and you have to do it while also generating revenue, building credibility, and proving outcomes at the same time. That takes patience and a lot of discipline.
Another challenge has been explaining what Knowledge Management actually is in a way that resonates with business leaders. Many organizations say they want “KM,” but what they really want is faster execution, fewer repeat mistakes, better onboarding, and better decisions. Turning an abstract concept into a clear value proposition, and then delivering measurable results consistently, has been an ongoing effort. It has also meant pushing back at times, because some leaders want a tool or a portal, when the real need is governance, behavior change, and operational integration.
Scaling has been its own struggle. Growth is not just about more work, it is about repeatable methods, standard quality, strong partnerships, and protecting the brand. Building Cannon-Lear Enterprises as a holding company was part of addressing that. It let me separate missions cleanly, reduce risk, and create a platform where KnocoUSA and Knoco International can scale responsibly.
On the personal side, balancing everything has been real. Entrepreneurship always tests your time, energy, and attention. And while A Time 2 Remember is primarily my wife Jessica’s focus, supporting that mission has also reinforced how important it is to have structure, boundaries, and sustainability. When you care deeply about something, it is easy to overextend. Learning where to draw lines so the work can continue long-term has been a lesson.
The final struggle, and the one I think many people underestimate, has been shifting from “doing the work myself” to building systems and teams that can deliver at scale. That transition is uncomfortable because it forces you to let go of certain controls and invest in process, training, and consistency. But it is necessary if you want the work to outgrow you.
So no, it has not been smooth. But each struggle has sharpened the model, strengthened the structure, and made the mission clearer.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cannon-Lear Enterprises?
Cannon-Lear Enterprises is the holding company for a small family of mission-aligned organizations. The core of what we do is built around helping organizations make better decisions, execute more consistently, and retain critical know how as people, priorities, and technology change. Under the Cannon-Lear umbrella, KnocoUSA and Knoco International are the professional services organizations where I focus most of my work. A Time 2 Remember is our community mission, and it is led day-to-day by my wife, Jessica.
**What we do and what we specialize in**
Through KnocoUSA and Knoco International, we specialize in practical, outcomes-driven Knowledge Management. That includes KM assessments and benchmarking, KM strategies and governance, knowledge transfer programs, lessons learned systems, communities of practice, and building “knowledge to decision” workflows that reduce rework and increase speed and confidence in execution. More recently, we have also expanded into the intersection of KM and artificial intelligence, helping organizations prepare their knowledge environment so AI can be trusted, traceable, and useful, not just impressive.
**What we are known for**
We are known for making KM operational. In other words, we do not treat KM as a library project, a portal, or a documentation exercise. We focus on how knowledge actually moves in real organizations: how decisions get made, how teams learn, how expertise is transferred, how standards evolve, and how people find the best answer quickly when it matters. We build KM into the daily rhythm of work so it is sustainable.
**What sets us apart**
A few things truly differentiate our approach:
1. **Real-world credibility and repeatable methods.** Our work is grounded in high-tempo operational and enterprise environments. We bring structure, discipline, and clarity, and we translate that into methods organizations can actually maintain.
2. **Outcomes over activity.** Many KM programs measure outputs like number of pages or number of uploads. We focus on outcomes like reduced cycle time, fewer repeat issues, faster onboarding to proficiency, improved compliance, and stronger decision traceability.
3. **KM plus AI readiness.** A lot of organizations are rushing into AI. We help them do it responsibly by building the knowledge foundations that AI depends on: authoritative sources, lifecycle management, governance, and traceability.
4. **We engineer the system, not just advise.** Strategy matters, but execution matters more. We deliver practical designs, playbooks, operating models, governance structures, and enablement so leaders can run the program after we leave.
**What I am most proud of, brand-wise**
I am most proud that the brand stands for integrity and usefulness. Our work is not trendy for the sake of being trendy. It is designed to make organizations more resilient and more capable. When clients tell us, “This finally works in the real world,” that is the compliment that matters. I am also proud that we have been intentional about creating a structure where the professional side and the community mission can both exist under Cannon-Lear Enterprises without compromising either.
**What I want readers to know**
If someone is reading this and thinking about Knowledge Management, I want them to know two things. First, KM is not optional anymore. Every organization is dealing with turnover, complexity, and information overload. KM is how you protect performance. Second, if you are investing in AI, your KM foundation is the deciding factor in whether that AI will be trusted and defensible. AI is only as strong as the knowledge environment behind it.
If readers remember one message, it is this: we help organizations build trusted knowledge foundations that drive better decisions and better outcomes, and we do it in a way that is practical, measurable, and sustainable.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was the kind of person who did best when I had a mission, a clear standard, and a reason to take responsibility for something bigger than myself. Personality wise, I was driven, curious, and independent. I asked a lot of questions, paid attention to how things worked, and I had a strong internal compass about right and wrong. I was not the loudest person in the room, but I was consistent. If something needed to be handled, I tended to be the one who would step in, organize it, and follow through.
Interest wise, I was always drawn to systems, leadership, and problem solving. Even before I had the language for it, I liked figuring out why things worked well in one situation and fell apart in another. I paid attention to patterns, how people communicated, how teams made decisions, and what separated effective groups from dysfunctional ones. That naturally turned into an interest in learning from experience, capturing lessons, and doing things better the next time.
I also had a strong mix of discipline and creativity. Discipline showed up in how I approached goals and commitments, and creativity showed up in how I thought about alternatives and improvements. I have always had an “optimize and improve” mindset, sometimes to a fault, because I see opportunities for refinement almost everywhere.
Socially, I was loyal to my circle. I have never been someone who needed a huge crowd. I value trust, consistency, and people who do what they say they are going to do. That likely contributed to the path I took later in life: military service, leadership roles, and ultimately building organizations where trust and reliability matter.
Looking back, the simplest way to describe it is this: I was serious about responsibility early, motivated by purpose, and always interested in how people and systems could perform better together. Those traits stayed with me and eventually became the foundation for the work I do today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cannonco.net
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cannonlearllc/
- Other: https://www.knoco.com/
