Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you

By Wes Trochlil | May 20, 2026

AMS Products are getting better – and what that means for you I’ve been working in and with AMS products for 36 years (27 years of consulting, nine years as an association staffer). And I can say with great confidence that the systems available today are much better than they were 36 years ago! (Shocking, I know.) But […]

Using AI beyond content generation

By Wes Trochlil | May 13, 2026

Using AI beyond content generation Recent surveys by ASAE and others suggest nearly 90% of associations are using AI for some type of content generation (e.g., creating blog posts, newsletter articles, “canned” responses to inquiries, etc.). That is great, but when it comes to data management, there are so many more opportunities for leveraging AI. Here are some ideas […]

If you’re training, PLEASE do this…

By Wes Trochlil | May 6, 2026

If you’re training, PLEASE do this… If you’re doing any kind of software training, or you have outside trainers coming in to do training, I beg of you, please do the following: When you start the training, provide the learners with a complete overview of what you’re going to cover. Do not just say “Now […]

Don’t confuse motion with improvement

By Wes Trochlil | April 29, 2026

Don’t confuse motion with improvement I wrote recently how action can produce information. But an important corollary to that idea is that action alone does not necessarily mean improvement. For example, how much time do we spend preparing board materials that the board never looks at, and even if they do look at it, won’t […]

Perfection is expensive (in fact, it’s not possible!)

By Wes Trochlil | April 22, 2026

Perfection is expensive (in fact, it’s not possible!) “Perfection is expensive. The last 5 percent of quality almost always costs a disproportionate amount of time and money.” – James Clear “Seek success, not perfection.” – Alan Weiss When I give presentations on data management, I almost always mention this concept. Too often we’re caught up in the […]

Older Posts

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

March 4, 2026

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful “Your data doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful.” – (Borrowed […]

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries

February 25, 2026

Don’t just clean data, clean reports and queries One of the reasons I exhort my clients to keep their data […]

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…

February 18, 2026

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite project work (e.g., system selection […]

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!

February 11, 2026

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is that automation can be so […]

Hindsight is 20/20

February 4, 2026

Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy AMS to a new system. […]

Cheaper now; costlier later.

January 28, 2026

Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who among us has an unlimited […]

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality

January 21, 2026

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear from my clients is “We […]

Don’t forget to celebrate!

January 14, 2026

Don’t forget to celebrate! Truth be told, I’m not a big celebrator. (Maybe it’s because I grew up with eight […]

Three thoughts on duplicate records

January 7, 2026

Three thoughts on duplicate records Duplicate records are a reality in any database of any size, so as database managers, we always […]

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