Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

AI is a journey, not a destination

By Wes Trochlil | April 15, 2026

AI is a journey, not a destination Lately I’ve noticed a lot of associations talking about AI like it’s a moon shot. “We need an AI project.” “We’re rolling out AI in Q4.” That language suggests AI is something you implement once and then check off the list. It isn’t. AI is a journey, and […]

Action produces information

By Wes Trochlil | April 8, 2026

Action produces information “Action produces information. If you’re unsure of what to do, just do anything, even if it’s the wrong thing. This will give you information about what you should actually be doing.” – Brian Armstrong, co-founder of Coinbase This is the great thing about data and why I’ve been in this business so long. […]

Why a single source of truth is so beneficial…

By Wes Trochlil | March 25, 2026

Why a single source of truth is so beneficial… The holy grail of data management is the “single source of truth.” As I like to characterize it, when someone asks “Where is the data about X?” everyone knows the answer and everyone gives the SAME answer. One of the most common challenges I hear from my […]

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

By Wes Trochlil | March 18, 2026

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should I’ve worked in and with associations for well over 37 years now. And one of the things I’ve always loved and appreciated about association staffers is their willingness to do whatever is needed to get the job done. But the problem is this “Yes, we can!” attitude can also […]

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful

By Wes Trochlil | March 4, 2026

Data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful “Your data doesn’t have to be perfect to be useful.” – (Borrowed with permission from Intellidata’s Slice newsletter.) In my experience, many associations hold themselves back from cleaning up their data, because they are overwhelmed with where to start, and they also think success can only be achieved […]

Older Posts

Great article in Associations Now

October 6, 2011

David J. Martin, CAE, is CEO of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has written a great article for […]

Is your database holding you back on growing membership?

September 21, 2011

Apparently, a lot of associations feel this way. In Marketing General’s recently released 2011 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report (available here), […]

New Article Posted – Three Keys to a Successful System Implementation

September 16, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. I’ve got several clients going through the process of implementing a new association […]

From listservers to forums/communities

September 1, 2011

I’m seeing a growing trend among my clients, moving from listservers (the old-style Lyris-type lists that are completely email-driven, and […]

In case you've missed it…

August 30, 2011

There’s a great discussion going on here about the pros and cons of Salesforce.com in the association market. Scroll down […]

I've said it before, but it bears repeating…

August 29, 2011

Working in a homegrown system is malpractice. (Click here to read why.) I continue to marvel at the number of […]

"They ask, we deliver."

August 26, 2011

I was meeting with an association executive recently to discuss how I might help them with the selection of a […]

$15K of research for a $30K project

August 24, 2011

An association recently contacted me to help them review some proposals they’ve received from some AMS vendors. The association is […]

Trust is EVERYTHING

August 22, 2011

I was reminded of this again recently while shopping for a new car. Working with a local car dealer, I […]

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