Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

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

Small, medium, large? Depends who you ask.

December 3, 2015

I recently read on an association forum the following phrase: “We have a mid-sized meeting with around 7,000 attendees…” What caught my […]

The rising importance of Learning Management Systems

December 2, 2015

I work with associations of all sizes, ranging from zero staff (all-volunteer run) to over 700 staff. One thing I’ve […]

The inherent conflict between staff needs and customer needs

November 30, 2015

One of the greatest benefits of the internet revolution is that data management has been moved from staff to customer. […]

Data and technology are a means to an end, not the end itself

November 24, 2015

I love data and I love technology. So when there’s an opportunity to use new technology, or an opportunity to […]

Make sure it's actionable, not just interesting

November 23, 2015

Because data is so easy to collect and store these days, it’s very tempting to try to collect data about […]

Attending the first MemberSuite Customer "Meetup"

November 19, 2015

Last week I had the opportunity to attend MemberSuite’s Meetup 2015, their first user group meeting. MemberSuite had nearly 50 […]

"Think like a lazy person but don't act like a lazy person."

October 29, 2015

  My brother runs a business cleaning business in Minneapolis. We were discussing a business process issue (unrelated to cleaning OR […]

New Article Posted – Using an AMS to Provide Member Value – A Case Study

October 20, 2015

A small association (15 staff) serves an international membership of businesses working on electric motors. One of the services this […]

An interesting new service for trade show planners

October 16, 2015

  I had the opportunity to see a short demo of the new trade show planning service from eventr.io (www.eventr.io). […]

Scroll to Top