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

"We" vs. "They"

August 7, 2007

I was on the phone today with a hotel, confirming my reservations. The reservations agent asked me for my name […]

Everyone's experience is the same (Or, It's just as bad everywhere else)

August 3, 2007

After nearly 20 years of working with associations on their databases, I’ve come to one conclusion: No one loves their […]

What's bugging associations?

August 2, 2007

I recently conducted an unscientific poll of my clients and contacts, asking them one simple question: What database issue are […]

Desktop Search

August 1, 2007

I've been a long-time user of X1 Technologies desktop search (more here). There used to be a free version of […]

Free Articles (Shameless Plug)

July 31, 2007

Don’t forget, in addition to all of these brilliant blog posts, you can find a bevy of free articles on […]

Management by Data in the Wall Street Journal

July 30, 2007

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article (subscription required) a few days ago talking about the trend in "management […]

Dashboards or Charts?

July 27, 2007

On his Membership Marketing Blog, Tony Rossell has a post about membership dashboards. He provides a link to a chart […]

Taking Prudent Risks

July 26, 2007

In this tip, I discuss how considering “worst-case” scenarios can help you decide whether or not to do something. There […]

Computility Demo

July 25, 2007

I had the opportunity to view a demo of the Computility AMS recently. For very small associations, I think the […]

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