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

Why you can't eliminate dupes

January 15, 2008

I’ll frequently hear from my clients and other database managers, “Our members keep creating duplicate records of themselves, rather than […]

About This Blog

January 11, 2008

This weblog is focused on the association management system (AMS) software market. The objective of this blog is to provide […]

Establishing a Users Group

January 11, 2008

Anyone who has heard me speak about database management systems knows that I’m a big fan of users groups. One […]

NTEN's CRM Satisfaction Survey is Released

January 7, 2008

I recently received a copy of NTEN’s CRM Satisfaction survey (you can get your own copy here). Here are my […]

Are you *really* listening?

December 13, 2007

Part of my job is to conduct interviews of database users. Another part of my job is to sit in […]

Testing your Training

December 11, 2007

Associations spend a lot of time and money on training (or at least they should). But I wonder if any […]

Don't let IT drive your business decisions

December 6, 2007

Let me start by saying I love the guys (and women) in IT. I really do. They are important to […]

No software implementation is perfect

December 4, 2007

I’ve written in the past about seeking success, and not perfection, in your data management systems. The same can be […]

When was the last time you audited your users?

November 30, 2007

I was cleaning up my internet favorites the other day. One of the folders I have within my favorites is […]

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