Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

My most recent posts

Improvement is never linear

By Wes Trochlil | June 10, 2026

Improvement is never linear One of the many lessons one learns over a lifetime is that improvement, regardless of what you’re trying to improve, is never linear. That is, you’ll always have days where you’re better, and days where you don’t improve, or maybe even fall back. And so it is with data management. Even if you […]

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture!

By Wes Trochlil | June 3, 2026

Don’t forget to take a “before” picture! Whenever I start on a big home clean up or renovation project, I like to take a “before” picture, so that I can see the progress that was made when the project is complete. (Ironically, even though I’m the son of an award-winning amateur photographer, I often forget […]

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish?

By Wes Trochlil | May 27, 2026

Are you being penny wise and pound foolish? Two quick customer service stories to illustrate a point: First story: I’ve used the same email provider for more than 20 years. But for technical reasons, recently I needed to switch providers, so I canceled my service with them a few weeks in advance of my renewal. […]

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 […]

Older Posts

More vendors allowing changes to online help

June 10, 2008

As I noted here, I was pleased to see an AMS vendor provide client access to their online help system. […]

Using Business Intelligence: Transactional vs. Transformational

June 5, 2008

I was sitting in a consulting workshop a few weeks ago being led by Alan Weiss. Alan was making the […]

New Article Posted

June 3, 2008

I’ve posted a new article on my website, entitled “Business Intelligence: What it Means for Membership and Marketing.” Of course, […]

The Wisdom of Drucker

May 29, 2008

My favorite quote from Peter Drucker comes from The Effective Executive (written over 40 years ago!!). On page 5, Drucker […]

Speaking for ASAE in Baltimore

May 22, 2008

Don’t forget, I’ll be speaking at the ASAE Marketing and Membership Conference next Thursday, May 29, from 2.15-3.30, on how […]

This gave me a chuckle

May 20, 2008

I came across this in a business magazine. It seems Microsoft (and other companies) are producing children’s books to promote […]

Perform a six-month and one-year audit

May 15, 2008

Selection and implementation of a new association management system is an incredibly trying process. If done well, at the end […]

Consider "Touch Points"

May 13, 2008

I’m frequently asked by clients to review their business processes. That is, to look at how they process information throughout […]

Bad Data Destroys Value

May 8, 2008

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a CRM session presented by Paul K. Ward. One of the […]

Scroll to Top