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Enterprise Intelligence
A New Theory of Management for the Intelligence Age. Executive Edition, by Erik Davison, with a foreword by Kris Odwarka.
- Author
- Erik Davison
- Foreword
- Kris Odwarka
- Publisher
- DBV Solutions
- Edition
- Executive Edition, paperback
- ISBN
- 978-1-963247-00-1
- Chapters
- 23
- Release
- Date to be announced
About the book
Erik Davison set out to answer one question: why do so many organizations, after years of investment in technology, still struggle to remember what they already learned? Enterprise Intelligence is the framework that came out of that question. It was built in the field and tested against the daily work of leaders trying to make their organizations more efficient and wiser.
The book starts with a diagnosis. Firms have plenty of information and too little institutional intelligence. Expertise retires with experienced people, the reasoning behind decisions is forgotten when projects close, and skilled professionals spend their days connecting information across systems, a role Erik calls human middleware. Artificial intelligence makes this more urgent, because AI amplifies whatever an organization already is.
“The most valuable strategic asset an organization possesses is its ability to learn from itself.”
From there the book builds an operating architecture: enterprise knowledge as the foundation, then memory, context, reasoning, decision quality and learning, held together by governance and leadership. Later chapters cover the intelligent workforce, the client experience, a maturity model for measuring progress, and the stewardship leaders owe the institutions they inherit. It closes with a letter to future leaders.
Every chapter has an executive summary, a CEO reflection drawn from Erik's career, and a closing reflection that leads into the next idea.
Who it is for
- CEOs, presidents and executive teams planning for AI
- Board members who oversee technology and risk
- Insurance leaders at brokers, carriers and MGAs
- Leaders of professional service firms whose value lives in expertise
- Anyone preparing to inherit an organization and lead it well
Written for executives. It assumes no technical background.
Ideas you will take away
- Human middleware. Why skilled people end up as the integration layer between systems.
- Enterprise Knowledge Capital. Knowledge as an asset that compounds with use.
- The operating architecture. Knowledge, memory, context, reasoning, decisions and learning working as one.
- Governance and trust. Why trust is infrastructure for AI.
- The maturity model. How to tell whether new capability is becoming permanent.
- Institutional stewardship. Leaving the organization stronger than you found it.
Case studies in the book
Each one shows an organization solving a version of the same problem: how to keep valuable human experience from disappearing.
- Translation firms institutionalized language and client preferences. Chapter 1.
- NASA institutionalized mission experience. Chapter 4.
- Amazon institutionalized decision mechanisms. Chapter 6.
- Manufacturing institutionalized process improvement. Chapter 9.
- McDonald's learned to distribute capability. Chapter 10.
- Aviation learned to institutionalize safety knowledge. Chapter 11.
- Consulting institutionalized methodologies and expertise. Chapter 13.
- Insurance holds vast underwriting, claims, actuarial, producer and risk knowledge, much of it fragmented. Chapter 16.
- The US Air Force institutionalized lessons learned. Chapter 19.
Contents
Foreword by Kris Odwarka, introduction, 23 chapters, about the author and index.
- The Intelligence AgeWhy enterprise intelligence is the next evolution of management
- The $8 Trillion OpportunityWhy enterprise intelligence will reshape the economics of insurance
- The Hidden Cost of FragmentationWhy enterprise software has reached an architectural limit
- Enterprise KnowledgeThe foundation of the intelligent enterprise
- Enterprise Transformation Before Artificial IntelligenceWhy intelligent enterprises succeed where AI projects fail
- The Enterprise Intelligence Operating ArchitectureDesigning the intelligent enterprise
- Leading Enterprise TransformationFrom vision to institutional capability
- The Intelligent EnterpriseWhen the organization begins to think as one
- The Enterprise Intelligence Operating ModelDesigning the enterprise that continuously improves
- Enterprise Intelligence ServicesMaking intelligence an enterprise capability
- Enterprise Intelligence GovernanceBuilding institutions that intelligence can be trusted to serve
- Leading the Intelligent EnterpriseLeadership in the intelligence age
- The Intelligent WorkforceFrom knowledge workers to intelligence contributors
- Developing the Enterprise Intelligence WorkforcePreparing professionals for the intelligence age
- The Intelligent Client ExperienceWhere enterprise intelligence creates its greatest value
- The Enterprise Intelligence AdvantageWhy intelligent enterprises outperform traditional organizations
- Enterprise Intelligence MaturityMeasuring the capability of the intelligent enterprise
- Transforming the EnterpriseTurning enterprise intelligence into organizational reality
- The Self-Improving EnterpriseWhen learning becomes the operating system of the organization
- Institutional StewardshipBuilding organizations that outlast their leaders
- The Intelligent InstitutionWhen organizations become greater than the sum of their people
- WisdomThe highest expression of enterprise intelligence
- A Letter to Future LeadersThe institutions you build will define the future
About the author
Erik Davison is the founder of DBV Solutions and the architect of the Enterprise Intelligence framework. Over a career spent advising organizations across the insurance industry and beyond, he has worked closely with executive teams on the systems, governance and culture required to turn institutional knowledge into lasting competitive advantage.
His path ran from an upbringing in Europe, through service in the US Air Force, to a Big 6 consulting firm and then to DBV Solutions, which he founded in 2004. He writes and speaks on management, artificial intelligence and organizational learning, and works directly with leadership teams building the intelligent enterprise.
From the foreword
“Enterprise Intelligence is the culmination of a decades long journey, across continents, cultures, and currencies, offering us a roadmap to improved performance, should we choose to take on that challenge.”
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Read excerpts
Articles adapted from chapters of the book.
Human middleware: the hidden cost of fragmented enterprise systems
Why skilled professionals spend their mornings connecting information across systems, what Erik Davison calls human middleware, and what it takes to fix it.
Why AI projects stall, and what leaders should build first
Artificial intelligence amplifies the strengths and weaknesses an organization already has. Erik Davison explains why enterprise readiness, trust and governance come before the technology.
Enterprise Knowledge Capital: what NASA's lessons learned program teaches every firm
Knowledge is the one asset that grows when used. How NASA keeps mission experience after programs end, and what Enterprise Knowledge Capital means for insurance and professional services firms.
The firm that remembers: what translation companies teach about Enterprise Intelligence
Professional translation firms already run a working version of Enterprise Intelligence. How translation memory, terminology databases and style guides map to enterprise knowledge, memory, context and learning.
Questions about the book
Who wrote Enterprise Intelligence?
Erik Davison, founder and CEO of DBV Solutions and architect of the Enterprise Intelligence framework. The foreword is by Kris Odwarka, a retired professional from BMW USA and Alpina USA and a friend of Erik's for more than four decades.
What is the book Enterprise Intelligence about?
It explains why organizations that have invested heavily in technology still struggle to remember what they already learned, and offers a management framework for fixing that. Knowledge, judgment and learning are treated as institutional assets, and the book lays out the architecture, leadership, governance, workforce and maturity model for an enterprise that keeps improving.
Who is the book for?
Executives, board members and senior leaders. It assumes no technical background. Insurance leaders will find the most direct examples, and the ideas apply to any organization that depends on expertise.
What is the ISBN of Enterprise Intelligence?
The Executive Edition paperback ISBN is 978-1-963247-00-1.
When will Enterprise Intelligence be available?
The publication date has not been announced yet. Join the list and DBV will email you when preorders open.
Who publishes Enterprise Intelligence?
DBV Solutions publishes the book. Copyright 2026 Erik Davison.
Can Erik Davison speak to our leadership team?
Yes. Erik gives keynotes and leadership sessions based on the book. Ask about speaking.