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

Wilfing? "Now where was I…?"

June 11, 2007

Came across this article in PC Magazine discussing "wilfing," a term coined by the British marketing research firm YouGov, short […]

Is Your Customer Service Really That Good?

June 8, 2007

A recent survey by Accenture found that the level of customer service that companies think they are providing their customers […]

To Aptify's Credit…

June 7, 2007

I received a call from them today regarding this post. They assured me that all of their emails are quality-checked […]

This Doesn't Inspire Confidence

June 7, 2007

I received an email from Aptify inviting me to attend an upcoming demonstration. I clicked on the link provided and […]

The Importance of an Internal Project Manager

June 5, 2007

I was meeting with a potential client recently, discussing their need for a new association management system. During the conversation […]

Fix a Few Things at a Time

June 4, 2007

Consulting guru Alan Weiss frequently admonishes: "Move a few things a mile rather than a hundred things an inch." Simply […]

Baseline Reports

June 1, 2007

While attending a users group meeting yesterday, I asked how many people in the room were using the baseline reports […]

The Missed Value of a New AMS System

May 31, 2007

When implementing a new AMS (association management system), we typically see all value of the functionality it brings: Things like […]

Your Vote Counts! ASAE Releases Data Standards Draft

May 30, 2007

The ASAE Data Standards Task Force announced the release of a draft standard for expressing constituent records in XML. This […]

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