Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

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

There's no need to run parallel systems

February 1, 2018

Back in the day (I mean WAY back), the standard practice when switching from one database system to another was to […]

Standardize before you optimize

January 25, 2018

I first read this phrase in a James Clear blog post. And what it means, simply put, is that before […]

What is "small"? Depends on who you ask.

January 17, 2018

Over my nearly 30 years in the association space, one of the things that always gives me a chuckle is […]

"Too expensive" and "Doesn't provide enough value" are the same thing

January 16, 2018

I recently came across a one-question service from a service provider (I think it was some kind of online software…) […]

Are you talking about your data? You should be.

January 12, 2018

In his book Contagious, Jonah Berger discusses the concept of “social influence.” In short, social influence is a change in […]

The Number of Test Scenarios Illustrates How Complex Your Business Rules Are

January 11, 2018

During the process of implementing a new AMS, one of the steps you’ll take is creating and testing scenarios for […]

EVERY System has duplicate records. Get used to it!

January 10, 2018

One of the most common challenges all of my clients face is duplicate records. And the simple fact is, even […]

Speak Up!

January 9, 2018

One of the more frustrating aspects of consulting is running into staff who are unwilling to speak up when speaking […]

You're not special (when it comes to data management)

December 1, 2017

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but the truth is, when it comes to data management, your association is probably […]

Scroll to Top