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

Want to be successful? Do the work!

November 30, 2017

I’m often asked what the major success factors are for an AMS (or any system) implementation. There are many, of […]

New article posted: Understanding Queries

November 21, 2017

When I work with my clients on any issues related to data management, whether it’s selecting a new AMS, or […]

Users are important, but don't forget about your data consumers

November 7, 2017

Last week I wrote about an association with 60 staff but only six users. Today I want to talk about […]

Consultants Unmasked

November 6, 2017

  Consultants Unmasked! Join us on Tuesday, November 14 • 10:45 – 11:45am   This is your chance to ask […]

GDPR is coming; are you prepared?

November 3, 2017

The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect in May 2018. In a nutshell, GDPR creates […]

60 staff but only six users; and that's OK

November 2, 2017

I was working with an association recently, helping them select a new association management system. The association has 60 FTEs, working […]

Two new articles posted…

October 19, 2017

In case you missed it, I’ve published two new articles on my site. Don’t overlook the progress made when moving […]

Are your customers' passwords hidden from staff view? They should be!

August 4, 2017

Are the passwords for your members and customers in your database hidden from staff view (e.g., hashed out or showing a […]

If you collect data, you must also maintain it

August 2, 2017

One of the joys of today’s database technology is that it makes it exceedingly easy to collect data. Put an online […]

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