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

Why "Finance" People are Difficult (and Sometimes Should Be)

April 5, 2011

I started work with a new client last week, and while talking to my contact about the staff I would be interviewing, my contact said: “Sally is our finance director.

Reports vs. Queries – What's the difference?

April 4, 2011

I’m always struck by the confusion that these two terms can create. This becomes most evident during software demos, when vendors are presenting their software to my clients. Clients will ask about…

Measuring Member Engagement – The AMS Vendors Are Starting to Get It

April 1, 2011

In a few weeks I’ll be speaking at ASAE’s Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference. My session will be on leveraging your organization’s AMS to improve…

Focus on profound change, not incremental change

March 31, 2011

I wrote recently about being bold and taking risks. Focusing on profound change rather than incremental change is a related concept.

When you think about the work you’re doing every day, consider…

Are you de-duping your lists?

March 22, 2011

In the mail today I received three (3!) identical solicitation letters from the same organization to which I have donated […]

Be Bold!

March 10, 2011

I was talking to an association colleague recently. He was explaining how his association has had flat membership growth for […]

Amazon continues to Amaze

February 25, 2011

Regular readers of my blogs and articles know that I’m a huge fan of Amazon. I’ve been buying from Amazon for well over a decade now and they continue to impress me with the things they do. Here’s my recent experience:
I was searching for a specialized…

"Uptalking" Makes You Sound Confused and Unsure

February 22, 2011

For those who don’t know, “uptalking” is when the speaker has a tendency to end any sentence on an “up” note, thus making it sound like a question rather than a statement. For example say to yourself…

CiviCRM a Year Later

February 17, 2011

Just over a year ago I posted this item on how the Evangelical Press Association is using CiviCRM as its association management software system. To my knowledge, CiviCRM is the only open source product on the market that directly addresses…

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