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

Our Members Aren’t Tech Savvy

September 2, 2020

Our Members Aren’t Tech Savvy Having worked now in the association space for more than 30 years, I’ve heard my […]

Motion vs. Action

August 26, 2020

Motion vs. Action One key to successful data management is understanding the difference between motion and action. Simply put, motion […]

There is ALWAYS a Trade-off

August 19, 2020

There is ALWAYS a Trade-off I’ve written many times about trade-offs (you can read a bunch here). In short, every […]

Little by little, a little becomes a lot

August 12, 2020

Little by little, a little becomes a lot “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” I don’t know where […]

Why do we treat data management differently?

August 5, 2020

Why do we treat data management differently? A recent post on ASAE’s community read: “Looking for recommendations for assistance with […]

Don’t Forget Your Speakers!

July 29, 2020

Don’t Forget Your Speakers! A phenomenon I’ve noticed over the years is that my clients will manage speaker data outside of the […]

90% of your data is never touched a second time

July 22, 2020

90% of your data is never touched a second time I heard recently on a podcast that 95% of all […]

Newton’s First Law

July 15, 2020

Newton’s First Law Part of Newton’s First Law states that “…an object in motion stays in motion…” What does this […]

No System is Perfect

July 7, 2020

No System is Perfect While it may sound trite, it bears repeating that no data management system is perfect. I have […]

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