Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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Blog post themes over 20 years…

By Wes Trochlil | August 5, 2026

Blog post themes over 20 years… I’ve been writing blog posts for nearly 20 years now. WordPress tells me I’ve written over 1,200 posts. So I asked AI to analyze my 1,200+ posts and give me my top three themes. Here’s what it came up with: Data management and data quality – these posts emphasize that data management is […]

Lots of feedback is a GOOD thing!

By Wes Trochlil | July 29, 2026

Lots of feedback is a GOOD thing! A client in the middle of their AMS implementation said to me: “I’m getting a LOT of feedback from staff about what the system can and cannot do. Is that good or bad?” My response: “Feedback means they’re actually in the system and using it! That’s a good […]

Doing the reps…

By Wes Trochlil | July 22, 2026

Doing the reps… I’m helping a client with the implementation of a new AMS. During a recent call, their internal project manager said “I’m still not as familiar with the system as I’d like to be. I need to get in there more often and play around.” I responded: “That’s exactly right. I suggest you […]

Add one, remove one

By Wes Trochlil | July 15, 2026

Add one, remove one In the world of home-organizing, there’s the “one in, one out” rule. Simply put, for every new item that enters your home, one similar item must leave, helping to maintain a constant level of possessions and prevent clutter accumulation. This would be a great rule for database managers when considering adding new fields […]

Spring cleaning, all year long

By Wes Trochlil | July 8, 2026

Spring cleaning, all year long I talk frequently about “weeding the garden,” the idea that proactively managing your data, consistently, over time, is a better practice than trying to clean up the data in one big effort once every couple of years. But beyond the data itself, weeding the garden should also include making sure all […]

Older Posts

AMS Learning and Demo Days is Just Days Away

April 30, 2009

If you’re considering the search for a new association management system in the coming months, make sure you don’t miss […]

When should I hire full-time database help?

April 28, 2009

I get this question a lot from my clients, especially “smaller” clients (those under 25 staff). This issue becomes particularly […]

Paradigms shifting

April 23, 2009

I’m not a big fan of the phrase “paradigm shift,” but I recently experienced one first hand that I found […]

An amazing factoid

April 21, 2009

This information is two years old, but I suspect it hasn’t changed much. “The average middle manager spends about two […]

More shocking survey results

April 16, 2009

In this survey, Campbell Rinker asked a series of questions of non-profits about their primary donor/member management software. On page […]

Sorry, Guy, I Disagree…

April 14, 2009

In this article on destinationcrm.com, Guy Kawasaki says: “I think it’s inherently arrogant if you think that you are worth […]

Stop hoarding data!

April 7, 2009

When working with my clients on data conversions, I always point out that they should convert as little data as […]

Online givers have lower retention rate

April 2, 2009

I found this very interesting. A recent report released by Target Analytics suggests that those that make online donations (as […]

Great idea for thanking your donors

March 31, 2009

I recently made a donation to NTEN’s scholarship fund for their annual meeting (NTC, which I wrote about here.) NTEN […]

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