Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

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

Dashboards Redux

September 30, 2008

Back in May of last year, I wrote the following post, which in essence said “There’s a lot of talk […]

Speaking in Chicago

September 25, 2008

I’ll be speaking in Chicago next Thursday, October 2, for the Association Forum of Chicagoland. My presentation will be on […]

Aptify Users Conference

September 23, 2008

I attended the Aptify Users Conference in Chicago last week. I always enjoy the users conferences because I get a […]

Are benchmarks useful or not?

September 18, 2008

At a recent ASAE Technical Section Council meeting, there was a lot of talk about benchmarking. One participant said his […]

Too many demos, too much perfume

September 16, 2008

When I work with clients on system selection (or when I’m presenting on this topic), I point out that one […]

From CIO to CPO

September 11, 2008

At the recent ASAE Technology Section Council meeting, Heidi Byerly of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) made the […]

Trust is critical to success

September 9, 2008

It may be a cliche, but one of the most critical elements to the long-term success of your database is […]

Staff News

September 4, 2008

I have a client who sends an every other week email newsletter, nicely formatted and designed, simply called “Staff News.” […]

Zappos and Facebook

September 2, 2008

Admittedly, I’m not much of a social media maven. I’m on Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and maybe a couple of others, […]

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