Tom Davenport

Though most organizations are placing modest bets on artificial intelligence, there is a world-class group of "AI-fueled" companies that are going all-in on the technology and radically transforming their products, processes, strategy, customer relationships, culture, and talent.

Though these AI-fueled companies represent less than 1 percent of large companies, these firms generally outperform their peers in growth and profitability. They have better business models, make better… Show more

Though most organizations are placing modest bets on artificial intelligence, there is a world-class group of "AI-fueled" companies that are going all-in on the technology and radically transforming their products, processes, strategy, customer relationships, culture, and talent.

Though these AI-fueled companies represent less than 1 percent of large companies, these firms generally outperform their peers in growth and profitability. They have better business models, make better decisions, have better relationships with customers, offer better products and services, and charge more-profitable prices.

Written by bestselling author Tom Davenport and Deloitte's Nitin Mittal, All-In on AI looks at artificial intelligence at its most extreme—from established companies like Anthem, Ping An, Airbus, and Capital One. The book also features lessons from startups to tech firms, but the focus is on how existing firms can transform themselves, for the future.

Filled with insights, strategies, and best practices,
All-In on AI also provides leaders and their teams with the insights to help their own companies become AI-fueled.
This includes:
- How to adopt multiple "use cases" or applications to support a wide variety of business goals and objectives
- How to deploy AI tools systematically across every core business process and enterprise operation
- How to drive new offerings and business models with AI and data-driven decision-making
- How to increase organization-wide fluency in AI
- What AI leadership really means

For anyone thinking about the next phase in artificial intelligence integration or planning to adopt this powerful technology in a more strategic way, All-In on AI offers a rare, inside look at what leading adopters are doing, while providing the tools to place AI at the core of everything the organization will do. Show less

This book breaks through both the hype and the doom-and-gloom surrounding automation and the deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled—“smart”—systems at work. Management and technology experts Thomas Davenport and Steven Miller show that, contrary to widespread predictions, prescriptions, and denunciations, AI is not primarily a job destroyer. Rather, AI changes the way we work—by taking over some tasks but not entire jobs, freeing people to do other, more important and more challenging… Show more

This book breaks through both the hype and the doom-and-gloom surrounding automation and the deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled—“smart”—systems at work. Management and technology experts Thomas Davenport and Steven Miller show that, contrary to widespread predictions, prescriptions, and denunciations, AI is not primarily a job destroyer. Rather, AI changes the way we work—by taking over some tasks but not entire jobs, freeing people to do other, more important and more challenging work. By offering detailed, real-world case studies of AI-augmented jobs in settings that range from finance to the factory floor, Davenport and Miller also show that AI in the workplace is not the stuff of futuristic speculation. It is happening now to many companies and workers.

These cases include a digital system for life insurance underwriting that analyzes applications and third-party data in real time, allowing human underwriters to focus on more complex cases; an intelligent telemedicine platform with a chat-based interface; a machine learning-system that identifies impending train maintenance issues by analyzing diesel fuel samples; and Flippy, a robotic assistant for fast food preparation. For each one, Davenport and Miller describe in detail the work context for the system, interviewing job incumbents, managers, and technology vendors. Short “insight” chapters draw out common themes and consider the implications of human collaboration with smart systems. Show less

This landmark work, the first to introduce business leaders to analytics, reveals how analytics are rewriting the rules of competition.

Updated with fresh content, Competing on Analytics provides the road map for becoming an analytical competitor, showing readers how to create new strategies for their organizations based on sophisticated analytics. Introducing a five-stage model of analytical competition, Davenport and Harris describe the typical behaviors, capabilities, and challenges… Show more

This landmark work, the first to introduce business leaders to analytics, reveals how analytics are rewriting the rules of competition.

Updated with fresh content, Competing on Analytics provides the road map for becoming an analytical competitor, showing readers how to create new strategies for their organizations based on sophisticated analytics. Introducing a five-stage model of analytical competition, Davenport and Harris describe the typical behaviors, capabilities, and challenges of each stage. They explain how to assess your company’s capabilities and guide it toward the highest level of competition. With equal emphasis on two key resources, human and technological, this book reveals how even the most highly analytical companies can up their game.

With an emphasis on predictive, prescriptive, and autonomous analytics for marketing, supply chain, finance, M&A, operations, R&D, and HR, the book contains numerous new examples from different industries and business functions, such as Disney’s vacation experience, Google’s HR, UPS’s logistics, the Chicago Cubs’ training methods, and Firewire Surfboards’ customization. Additional new topics and research include:

Data scientists and what they do
Big data and the changes it has wrought
Hadoop and other open-source software for managing and analyzing data
Data products—new products and services based on data and analytics
Machine learning and other AI technologies
The Internet of Things and its implications
New computing architectures, including cloud computing
Embedding analytics within operational systems
Visual analytics
The business classic that turned a generation of leaders into analytical competitors, Competing on Analytics is the definitive guide for transforming your company’s fortunes in the age of analytics and big data. Show less

​In our second annual survey, early adopters remain bullish on cognitive technologies’ value and are ramping up AI investments. But questions linger about risk management—and about who at the company will push projects forward.

Cutting through the hype, a practical guide to using artificial intelligence for business benefits and competitive advantage.

In The AI Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. He describes what technologies are available and how companies can use them for business benefits and competitive advantage. He cuts through the hype of the AI craze—remember when it seemed plausible that IBM's Watson could cure cancer?—to explain how businesses can… Show more

Cutting through the hype, a practical guide to using artificial intelligence for business benefits and competitive advantage.

In The AI Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. He describes what technologies are available and how companies can use them for business benefits and competitive advantage. He cuts through the hype of the AI craze—remember when it seemed plausible that IBM's Watson could cure cancer?—to explain how businesses can put artificial intelligence to work now, in the real world. His key recommendation: don't go for the “moonshot” (curing cancer, or synthesizing all investment knowledge); look for the “low-hanging fruit” to make your company more efficient.

Davenport explains that the business value AI offers is solid rather than sexy or splashy. AI will improve products and processes and make decisions better informed—important but largely invisible tasks. AI technologies won't replace human workers but augment their capabilities, with smart machines to work alongside smart people. AI can automate structured and repetitive work; provide extensive analysis of data through machine learning (“analytics on steroids”), and engage with customers and employees via chatbots and intelligent agents. Companies should experiment with these technologies and develop their own expertise.

Davenport describes the major AI technologies and explains how they are being used, reports on the AI work done by large commercial enterprises like Amazon and Google, and outlines strategies and steps to becoming a cognitive corporation. This book provides an invaluable guide to the real-world future of business AI.

A book in the Management on the Cutting Edge series, published in cooperation with MIT Sloan Management Review. Show less

Should all of us knowledge workers be nervous about the arrival of AI and other smart technologies in the workplace? Yes and no -- the key is to ensure you are well positioned to have your work augmented by them, and not automated.

Go ahead, be skeptical about big data. The author was--at first. When the term "big data" first came on the scene, bestselling author Tom Davenport ("Competing on Analytics," "Analytics at Work") thought it was just another example of technology hype. But his research in the years that followed changed his mind. Now, in clear, conversational language, Davenport explains what big data means--and why everyone in business needs to know about it. "Big Data at Work" covers all the bases: what big… Show more

Go ahead, be skeptical about big data. The author was--at first. When the term "big data" first came on the scene, bestselling author Tom Davenport ("Competing on Analytics," "Analytics at Work") thought it was just another example of technology hype. But his research in the years that followed changed his mind. Now, in clear, conversational language, Davenport explains what big data means--and why everyone in business needs to know about it. "Big Data at Work" covers all the bases: what big data means from a technical, consumer, and management perspective; what its opportunities and costs are; where it can have real business impact; and which aspects of this hot topic have been oversold. This book will help you understand: (1) Why big data is important to you and your organization, (2) What technology you need to manage it, (3) How big data could change your job, your company, and your industry, (4) How to hire, rent, or develop the kinds of people who make big data work, (5) The key success factors in implementing any big data project, and (6) How big data is leading to a new approach to managing analytics. With dozens of company examples, including UPS, GE, Amazon, United Healthcare, Citigroup, and many others, this book will help you seize all opportunities--from improving decisions, products, and services to strengthening customer relationships. It will show you how to put big data to work in your own organization so that you too can harness the power of this ever-evolving new resource. Show less

Why Everyone Needs Analytical Skills... Welcome to the age of data. No matter your interests (sports, movies, politics), your industry (finance, marketing, technology, manufacturing), or the type of organization you work for (big company, nonprofit, small start-up)--your world is awash with data. As a successful manager today, you must be able to make sense of all this information. You need to be conversant with analytical terminology and methods and able to work with quantitative information… Show more

Why Everyone Needs Analytical Skills... Welcome to the age of data. No matter your interests (sports, movies, politics), your industry (finance, marketing, technology, manufacturing), or the type of organization you work for (big company, nonprofit, small start-up)--your world is awash with data. As a successful manager today, you must be able to make sense of all this information. You need to be conversant with analytical terminology and methods and able to work with quantitative information. This book promises to become your "quantitative literacy" guide--helping you develop the analytical skills you need right now in order to summarize data, find the meaning in it, and extract its value. In "Keeping Up with the Quants," authors, professors, and analytics experts Thomas Davenport and Jinho Kim offer practical tools to improve your understanding of data analytics and enhance your thinking and decision making. You'll gain crucial skills, including: (1) How to formulate a hypothesis, (2) How to gather and analyze relevant data, (3) How to interpret and communicate analytical results, (4) How to develop habits of quantitative thinking, and (5) How to deal effectively with the "quants" in your organization. Big data and the analytics based on it promise to change virtually every industry and business function over the next decade. If you don't have a business degree or if you aren't comfortable with statistics and quantitative methods, this book is for you. "Keeping Up with the Quants" will give you the skills you need to master this new challenge--and gain a significant competitive edge. Show less

Despite the dizzying amount of data at our disposal today--and an increasing reliance on analytics to make the majority of our decisions--many of our most critical choices still come down to human judgment. This fact is fundamental to organizations whose leaders must often make crucial decisions: to do this they need the best available insights. In "Judgment Calls," authors Tom Davenport and Brook Manville share twelve stories of organizations that have successfully tapped their data assets… Show more

Despite the dizzying amount of data at our disposal today--and an increasing reliance on analytics to make the majority of our decisions--many of our most critical choices still come down to human judgment. This fact is fundamental to organizations whose leaders must often make crucial decisions: to do this they need the best available insights. In "Judgment Calls," authors Tom Davenport and Brook Manville share twelve stories of organizations that have successfully tapped their data assets, diverse perspectives, and deep knowledge to build an organizational decision-making capability--a competence they say can make the difference between success and failure. This book introduces a model that taps the collective judgment of an organization so that the right decisions are made, and the entire organization profits. Through the stories in "Judgment Calls," the authors--both of them seasoned management thinkers and advisers--make the case for the wisdom of organizations and suggest ways to use it to best advantage. Each chapter tells a unique story of one dilemma and its ultimate resolution, bringing into high relief one key to the power of collective judgment. Individually, these stories inspire and instruct; together, they form a model for building an organizational capacity for broadly based, knowledge-intensive decision making. You've read "The Wisdom of Crowds" and "Competing on Analytics." Now read "Judgment Calls." You, and your organization, will make better decisions. Show less

A “how-to” guide for developing an analytical capability in your company, and putting it to work. As a follow-up to the bestseller Competing on Analytics, Tom Davenport and his co-authors provide practical frameworks and tools for all organizations wanting to become more analytical and to make better data-based decisions.

This book unleashed a worldwide movement in organizations wanting to harness their data for competitive advantage. It describes organizations that use business intelligence and analytics not only to improve operations, but also to compete but also to compete more effectively.

If you are a knowledge worker, or manage them in an organization, you need this book to guide efforts to improve performance. Knowledge workers are different, and the approaches to enhancing their work must be guided by their unique attributes. Find out how the best organizations get the most out of their knowledge workers.

Virtually every organization gets enthused about new business and management ideas from time to time. But few know how best to capitalize on business ideas, and how to harness the “idea practitioners” who embrace new ideas first. This book also contains the first-ever objective ranking of management gurus.

Attention has become the most valuable resource for any businessperson. Find out how to capture attention when you need it and allocate it to the most important information. This is Davenport’s most fun-to-read book, with thousands of attention-getting information tidbits!

In this book, Davenport and his co-authors chronicle the efforts of Siemens, an industrial giant, to capture and manage the knowledge of its people. It is perhaps the only detailed account of a diversified corporation’s efforts in knowledge management.

This book was the first, and a best selling book, on knowledge management. It describes the key issues to address in managing knowledge, from implementing knowledge technologies to creating knowledge markets. There are many examples of leading practice.

Davenport and Marchand edited this book of short pieces by many leading authorities on information management. Part of the Financial Times’ “Mastering” series, it contains highly readable and usable lessons on this most important topic.

By viewing enterprise systems as business vs. technology projects, discover the specific business change objectives that will enable a smooth ES adoption and implementation. This book takes a no-nonsense view of enterprise-wide information systems, and offers a set of guidelines to help evaluate the benefits, pitfalls – and opportunities and challenges – for your organization.