Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Data management is improvisation

By Wes Trochlil | September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I’m paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

“As good or better than me.”

By Wes Trochlil | September 2, 2026

“As good or better than me.” I was recently speaking with a software developer working on AI and we were discussing using natural language querying in an AMS. I told him, “The biggest challenge you face is that the first time the AI is wrong, staff will never use it again.” He agreed but then added: “The […]

Documentation is insurance

By Wes Trochlil | August 26, 2026

Documentation is insurance In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client pointed out that if they lost one or two key staff members, so much institutional knowledge would go with them that the association would have real difficulty managing their AMS. I recommended that they should document all of their key processes so […]

It all comes down to fundamentals

By Wes Trochlil | August 12, 2026

It all comes down to fundamentals I’m preparing for a webinar that I’m presenting in a couple of weeks, on using data to improve marketing and communications. This is a presentation (in one form or another) that I’ve made for nearly 20 years, and it includes an excellent case study of one association that dramatically improved their […]

Older Posts

Whose Responsibility is Quality Assurance?

September 21, 2007

A client of mine asked her vendor to make a fix to their database. After making the fix, the vendor […]

Take-aways from Gartner, Part 2

September 20, 2007

Other posts on the Gartner CRM Summit 2007 can be found here. According to one of the speakers during the […]

Take-aways from Gartner, Part 1

September 19, 2007

These next several posts will focus on issues raised during the Gartner CRM Conference Summit 2007 which I think are […]

Off to the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit

September 17, 2007

I'm attending the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit in beautiful Ft. Lauderdale for the next three days. Among other things, […]

Tips for Managing Your AMS Kick-off

September 12, 2007

Kristine Metter at AcademyHealth has been working with her staff as they go live with a new association management system. […]

The Power of the Handwritten Note

September 11, 2007

Over the past couple of months I’ve written two articles for ASAE’s magazine Associations Now. In both cases, once the […]

Even Forrester Research Agrees with Me

September 10, 2007

Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company. Forrester recently released a list of its CRM “best practices.” […]

Focus on the Real Objectives

September 6, 2007

Recently my wife and I went out of town and left our four kids with a babysitter for the weekend. […]

Micro-managing Kills Initiative

September 5, 2007

Why aren't more of your staff comfortable with working in your association's database? One reason may be micro-management. I've been […]

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