Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

My most recent posts

Data management is improvisation

By Wes Trochlil | September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I’m paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

“As good or better than me.”

By Wes Trochlil | September 2, 2026

“As good or better than me.” I was recently speaking with a software developer working on AI and we were discussing using natural language querying in an AMS. I told him, “The biggest challenge you face is that the first time the AI is wrong, staff will never use it again.” He agreed but then added: “The […]

Documentation is insurance

By Wes Trochlil | August 26, 2026

Documentation is insurance In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client pointed out that if they lost one or two key staff members, so much institutional knowledge would go with them that the association would have real difficulty managing their AMS. I recommended that they should document all of their key processes so […]

It all comes down to fundamentals

By Wes Trochlil | August 12, 2026

It all comes down to fundamentals I’m preparing for a webinar that I’m presenting in a couple of weeks, on using data to improve marketing and communications. This is a presentation (in one form or another) that I’ve made for nearly 20 years, and it includes an excellent case study of one association that dramatically improved their […]

Older Posts

Director of Education position in Northern Virginia

January 27, 2016

A client of mine located in Ashburn VA is seeking a director of education. This is a small (3 FTE) […]

Survey results from SCIPP's Data Breach Preparedness Survey Now Available

January 27, 2016

The results from SCIPP International’s recent survey of association’s data breach preparedness are now available on SCIPP’s website by clicking […]

New Article Posted – Managing Data at an Association is NOT the Same as a For-profit Business

January 19, 2016

One of the more common lamentations I hear from my association clients is that associations need to manage their database […]

Don't ask me to volunteer if you're not going to use me

January 15, 2016

I received an email from a software company whose software I use. The software vendor asked “Can we share your […]

Low-hanging fruit

January 13, 2016

I’ve always loved the phrase “low-hanging fruit.” It creates such a great visual in my mind, the idea that I […]

Data management is never "done"

January 12, 2016

One of the most common services I provide my clients is system selection and implementation. Simply put, I help my […]

Budget for training AFTER go-live

January 11, 2016

As I noted in this post last month, one of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is a […]

If your dropdown menu has more than seven choices, it's useless

January 8, 2016

Which dropdown menu am I referring to? Any of them. The paradox of choice is that the more choices we […]

Better tools get better results

January 7, 2016

For Christmas I received a new cookbook, The Food Lab (which I highly recommend). Several pages of the book are […]

Scroll to Top