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

Snapshots are required

August 30, 2023

Snapshots are required Recently a couple of different clients have asked me why it’s necessary to take a snapshot of […]

“It’s in the database…”

August 16, 2023

“It’s in the database…” I often joke with my clients that AMS nirvana looks like this: When someone asks “Where […]

Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management

August 9, 2023

Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management I’m a huge fan of the Pomodoro Technique, which is a time management technique […]

You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates

August 2, 2023

You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates Here’s the thing about duplicate records: No matter what you do, you’ll […]

Asking for more is a good sign…

July 26, 2023

Asking for more is a good sign… A client who had recently implemented a new AMS told me: “I’m concerned […]

Take action…

July 19, 2023

Take action… “The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data.” – Peter Drucker This is my […]

The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited

July 12, 2023

The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited I’m finding that the “Rule of 100 and 1,000” comes up quite often […]

You gotta wanna

July 5, 2023

You gotta wanna Long ago I heard a training consultant say you can’t train people who don’t want to learn. […]

Be careful not to overbuy

June 14, 2023

Be careful not to overbuy I recently spoke with an association of ten staff that was struggling with their current AMS. […]

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