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

New Article Posted – Are we really insane?

July 25, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said the definition of insanity is doing […]

Success is measured by….?

June 20, 2011

According to this poster, which hangs in my childrens’ school (and I’ve seen it in other schools, too), success is […]

New Article Posted – No AMS Ever Failed on Selection

June 16, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. There is a classic management aphorism that no strategy ever failed on design; […]

The path to the best database

June 14, 2011

Here’s a good article in ASAE’s recent Associations Now Technology Guide supplement, including some good advice from yours truly.

How much data is enough data?

June 13, 2011

A database manager recently asked me how to get her staff to enter more data into the database when collecting […]

You love me, you really LUV me!

May 24, 2011

I get high praise from my clients for the work I do, but this one takes the cake:

When calculating ROI, be sure to annualize the savings

May 23, 2011

We all know that ROI = return on investment. When considering any investment, we should consider what the return on […]

"Why do we need this position now?"

May 20, 2011

I was speaking to an association executive recently about the idea of adding a database manager to their staff (I […]

Compliance vs. Commitment

May 19, 2011

The difference between compliance and commitment is simple; compliance means one is doing something because they have to, for fear […]

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