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

ASAE Annual Re-Cap

August 10, 2011

I just returned from the ASAE Annual Meeting in St. Louis, and wanted to share some quick thoughts on the […]

DC Budgets and Sacred Zombie Cows (R)

July 26, 2011

The current debt ceiling debate going on in Washington right now has me thinking about how associations manage their budgets. […]

New Article Posted – Are we really insane?

July 25, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said the definition of insanity is doing […]

Success is measured by….?

June 20, 2011

According to this poster, which hangs in my childrens’ school (and I’ve seen it in other schools, too), success is […]

New Article Posted – No AMS Ever Failed on Selection

June 16, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. There is a classic management aphorism that no strategy ever failed on design; […]

The path to the best database

June 14, 2011

Here’s a good article in ASAE’s recent Associations Now Technology Guide supplement, including some good advice from yours truly.

How much data is enough data?

June 13, 2011

A database manager recently asked me how to get her staff to enter more data into the database when collecting […]

You love me, you really LUV me!

May 24, 2011

I get high praise from my clients for the work I do, but this one takes the cake:

When calculating ROI, be sure to annualize the savings

May 23, 2011

We all know that ROI = return on investment. When considering any investment, we should consider what the return on […]

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