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

"Start as you mean to continue"

March 21, 2016

A client of mine recently said this in a meeting, explaining her momma used to always tell her, “Start as you […]

There is ideal, and then there is reality

March 18, 2016

When it comes to data management, I often encourage my clients to seek the ideal whenever possible, but to acknowledge […]

Take advantage of your vendor's training programs

March 16, 2016

I wrote recently about one vendor who provides free training to new employees. It’s a brilliant idea that all vendors […]

Be aware of implied interest

March 15, 2016

Many of my clients track “areas of interest” within their database (maybe you do, too). These are typically checkboxes of dropdown […]

Not everything needs to be automated

March 14, 2016

One of my favorite activities with clients is to work on redesigning their business processes and workflows to make them […]

Data governance is not a technology issue…

March 11, 2016

In a session at the recent Abila Users and Developers Conference (AUDC), a speaker from the American Hospital Association (AHA) […]

Focus on User Experience Demonstrates Maturity of Industry

March 10, 2016

I had the opportunity to attend the Abila Users and Developers Conference (AUDC) last week in Austin. During the roadmap […]

Vendors: Provide free training for new employees!

February 24, 2016

I was sitting in a demo with a client last week and the vendor providing the demo said “We provide four […]

New Article Posted – Should You Use an Implementation Partner?

February 22, 2016

There are well over 50 companies that provide AMS products to the association market. They range from products designed for […]

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