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

The Power of the Handwritten Note

September 11, 2007

Over the past couple of months I’ve written two articles for ASAE’s magazine Associations Now. In both cases, once the […]

Even Forrester Research Agrees with Me

September 10, 2007

Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company. Forrester recently released a list of its CRM “best practices.” […]

Focus on the Real Objectives

September 6, 2007

Recently my wife and I went out of town and left our four kids with a babysitter for the weekend. […]

Micro-managing Kills Initiative

September 5, 2007

Why aren't more of your staff comfortable with working in your association's database? One reason may be micro-management. I've been […]

Modeling Behavior

August 31, 2007

The other day my two-year old daughter and I walked to our mailbox to mail a letter. The mailbox is […]

You gotta have a back up plan

August 30, 2007

No, I’m not talking about data back up this time. I’m talking about having a back up plan for how […]

Is there any information here?

August 29, 2007

Recently while driving along the GW Parkway (just outside DC) I came upon an electronic road sign (you know, the […]

New Technology Requires Additional Attention

August 28, 2007

One of the more common mistakes I see is organizations assuming that they can add new technology without considering what […]

Why You Should Have a Test Environment

August 27, 2007

Many years ago while working as an association staffer, I was trying to kill some time on a Friday afternoon. […]

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