Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

My most recent posts

Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

By Wes Trochlil | May 31, 2023

Do the benefits outweigh the risks? As the economist Thomas Sowell points out, there are no solutions, only trade-offs. Every decision we make, every day, involves trade-offs. Another way to look at this is, given a choice of one path vs. the other, will the benefits of that choice outweigh the risks? Is there more …

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Painting the Bridge

By Wes Trochlil | May 24, 2023

Painting the Bridge According to this article, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously year-round. That is, rather than painting the entire bridge once per year (or every couple of years), “painting the Bridge is an ongoing task and a primary maintenance job.” This, of course, reminds me of data management. Data management is not a “once …

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Maintenance isn’t sexy

By Wes Trochlil | May 17, 2023

Maintenance isn’t sexy I remember reading once long ago that one of the reasons our country’s infrastructure (e.g., bridges, roads) isn’t as well-maintained as it could be is because maintenance isn’t “sexy.” When it comes to choosing between maintaining and/or fixing the current infrastructure versus building new roads and bridges, new always wins out. Maintenance …

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“Will I still have a job when this is done?”

By Wes Trochlil | May 10, 2023

“Will I still have a job when this is done? While working with a client on a new AMS implementation recently, the executive director told me she was surprised to hear her staff ask: “With all the improvements and automation that the new AMS brings, will I still have a job?” I’ve been at this …

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Evolution, not revolution

By Wes Trochlil | May 3, 2023

Evolution, not revolution I don’t recall where I first heard it many decades ago, but the phrase “evolution, not revolution” always struck me as one key to understanding how data management really works. (I heard the phrase in relation to something else but naturally I found a fit for data management!) It’s really quite simple: When it …

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Older Posts

Tell them why you want the data

November 9, 2022

Tell them why you want the data Because data is so easy to collect these days, there’s a tendency to …

Tell them why you want the data Read More »

Don’t get hung up on something minor

November 2, 2022

Don’t get hung up on something minor I’m a problem solver. I love to solve problems. Which is great until …

Don’t get hung up on something minor Read More »

Be flexible, especially for unusual requests

October 26, 2022

Be flexible, especially for unusual requests One of the great benefits of off-the-shelf association management software (AMS) products is that the products …

Be flexible, especially for unusual requests Read More »

“Her eyes were bigger than her stomach.”

October 19, 2022

“Her eyes were bigger than her stomach.” When I was a child, my siblings used to joke about how one …

“Her eyes were bigger than her stomach.” Read More »

Once you buy crap…

October 12, 2022

Once you buy crap… “When you buy something cheap and bad, the best you’re going to feel about it is …

Once you buy crap… Read More »

It could always be worse

October 5, 2022

It could always be worse Because most of us don’t have the benefit (like I do) of seeing how other associations …

It could always be worse Read More »

It’s all about managing expectations

September 28, 2022

It’s all about managing expectations I placed an order online on a Friday and the store I was ordering from …

It’s all about managing expectations Read More »

Experience is the best teacher

September 21, 2022

Experience is the best teacher Experience is the best teacher. Every one of us has experienced this (pun intended!) and …

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Don’t ask for what you don’t need!

September 14, 2022

Don’t ask for what you don’t need! Recently I received a bill from a doctor’s practice. The bill provided a …

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