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

“You can always add, but you can’t take away”

March 27, 2015

When discussing how much access staff users should have to the database and its functionality, I always tell my client […]

Yes! Make it easier to join!

March 26, 2015

I was very pleased to read this recent article in Associations Now by Joe Rominiecki about the Society of Hospital […]

Seek first to understand

March 25, 2015

One of the most important skills I’ve learned in my 15 years as a consultant is the ability to listen. […]

Re-keying data is never acceptable

March 23, 2015

One of my data management commandments is that data should never have to be re-keyed. That is, once data has […]

How far we’ve come

March 20, 2015

I’ve written before about the amazing advances in technology that I’ve seen in my lifetime (and I like to think […]

Get a Systems Tune Up

March 19, 2015

One of the more important services I provide my clients is what I call a systems audit. The purpose of […]

Maintain regular contact with your vendor

March 18, 2015

When I help associations seek out and select new association management systems, one of the first questions I ask them […]

New Article Posted – "I'm as engaged as I want to be."

March 17, 2015

I believe understanding and measuring member engagement is not a fad; it’s a critical part of every association’s long-term survival […]

"It's a religious issue"

February 2, 2015

I first heard this phrase 20 years ago from my then IT director at a small association I was working […]

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