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

Do you know how many sources of data you *really* have?

November 28, 2007

I’ve been working with a client recently on consolidating all of their data into a single data management system. They […]

Backing Up, Part 37 in an infinite series…

November 13, 2007

One of my (many) soapboxes is tryi to get people to back up their data and make sure it’s backed […]

A Great Example of a Users Group

November 8, 2007

All of my clients know that I'm a huge proponent of users groups. I like 'em so much, I actually […]

Quoted on monster.com

November 5, 2007

I’ve written about training in the past (see here). I was also recently quoted on monster.com about how to get […]

The Power of the Users Group (and open source software)

November 1, 2007

James Michael-Hill, Web/Database Manager for the Utilities Telecom Council, posted a note to the Avectra Users Group, explaining how he has […]

More evidence that people want to pay online

October 31, 2007

It would seem this would be self-evident at this point in the game, but in case it's not, here's more […]

Quoted in CRMBuyer.com

October 29, 2007

I provided my thoughts on the Gartner CRM Summit these posts. But I was recently quoted on CRMBuyer.com for my […]

Avectra Scores BIG VC Money

October 26, 2007

The association management software world is known more for its smaller “mom and pop” vendors than for big software players. […]

The Wisdom of Children

October 25, 2007

At the dinner table with my family the other day, I was discussing an issue as my nine-year-old son listened […]

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