Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

AI is a journey, not a destination

By Wes Trochlil | April 15, 2026

AI is a journey, not a destination Lately I’ve noticed a lot of associations talking about AI like it’s a moon shot. “We need an AI project.” “We’re rolling out AI in Q4.” That language suggests AI is something you implement once and then check off the list. It isn’t. AI is a journey, and […]

Action produces information

By Wes Trochlil | April 8, 2026

Action produces information “Action produces information. If you’re unsure of what to do, just do anything, even if it’s the wrong thing. This will give you information about what you should actually be doing.” – Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Coinbase This is the great thing about data and why I’ve been in this business so long. […]

Why a single source of truth is so beneficial…

By Wes Trochlil | March 25, 2026

Why a single source of truth is so beneficial… The holy grail of data management is the “single source of truth.” As I like to characterize it, when someone asks “Where is the data about X?” everyone knows the answer and everyone gives the SAME answer. One of the most common challenges I hear from my […]

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

By Wes Trochlil | March 18, 2026

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should I’ve worked in and with associations for well over 37 years now. And one of the things I’ve always loved and appreciated about association staffers is their willingness to do whatever is needed to get the job done. But the problem is this “Yes, we can!” attitude can also […]

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

By Wes Trochlil | 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 with permission from Intellidata’s Slice newsletter.) In my experience, many associations hold themselves back from cleaning up their data, because they are overwhelmed with where to start, and they also think success can only be achieved […]

Older Posts

ASAE's Annual Meeting

August 10, 2007

I'm off to ASAE's Annual Meeting in Chicago. I serve on the ASAE Technology Section Council, so I'll be in […]

How far we've come…

August 9, 2007

In the storage room of my house is a box from a printer that reads "Data Processing Forms." The picture […]

It just keeps happening…

August 8, 2007

A colleague of mine tells me that his hard drive on his laptop has crashed, and it’s unlikely he’ll be […]

"We" vs. "They"

August 7, 2007

I was on the phone today with a hotel, confirming my reservations. The reservations agent asked me for my name […]

Everyone's experience is the same (Or, It's just as bad everywhere else)

August 3, 2007

After nearly 20 years of working with associations on their databases, I’ve come to one conclusion: No one loves their […]

What's bugging associations?

August 2, 2007

I recently conducted an unscientific poll of my clients and contacts, asking them one simple question: What database issue are […]

Desktop Search

August 1, 2007

I've been a long-time user of X1 Technologies desktop search (more here). There used to be a free version of […]

Free Articles (Shameless Plug)

July 31, 2007

Don’t forget, in addition to all of these brilliant blog posts, you can find a bevy of free articles on […]

Management by Data in the Wall Street Journal

July 30, 2007

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article (subscription required) a few days ago talking about the trend in "management […]

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