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

New Article Posted – It's time to get rid of the membership grace period

April 18, 2016

I started my career as a membership assistant at a trade association. We had 500 organizational members, and dues renewals […]

Significant changes at Personify

April 5, 2016

I had the opportunity to meet recently with Marc Bernstein and Andre Pavovlic from Personify. Marc is Vice President & […]

If you're sending more than five RFPs, you're doing it wrong.

March 31, 2016

I once heard of an association who had worked with a consultant on selecting a new AMS. The consultant had the […]

Where is that data?

March 30, 2016

One of the challenges that I see with many associations is knowing exactly where a given data point is housed within […]

"There are no solutions, only trade-offs"

March 29, 2016

I first heard this from Thomas Sowell many years ago. And I’ve written about it here and here and here. But […]

Vendors: PLEASE stop saying "only" or "first of its kind"

March 28, 2016

Here’s the thing about being “first” on anything. Only ONE company or person can be first. Only one. So when […]

Associations need to formalize and operationalize data management

March 24, 2016

In my 2015 Data Management Benchmarking Survey, I asked associations: “Do you have a formal data management team?” Only 22% […]

To host or not to host? That is the question.

March 23, 2016

I’m often asked by my clients, as they seek a new AMS, should they be looking at hosted options? Or […]

Have you looked at your documentation recently?

March 22, 2016

Many years ago I wrote an article about how important documentation is to the long-term success of your AMS. (You can read […]

Scroll to Top