Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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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

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 […]

Documenting Your Processes

May 29, 2007

I spoke at a users group meeting a few weeks ago, and asked if anyone in the audience had a […]

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