Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

My most recent posts

Data integrity reports

By Wes Trochlil | July 9, 2025

Data integrity reports I speak and write a lot about data integrity reports. So I was pleased to see a post recently on ASAE’s Collaborate from Shaun Holloway, Director of Information Technology, at the American Motorcyclist Association, outlining a list of what he called “data hygiene checks.” As a reminder, the purpose of a data integrity […]

The most important training tip

By Wes Trochlil | June 25, 2025

The most important training tip I’ve been sitting in a lot of database training sessions recently, and I’ve been reminded of the following: whether you are doing the training yourself, or you use your vendor or a third-party for training, when you’re teaching a process… Tell them what you’re going to do Do it Tell […]

Be careful about getting tangled

By Wes Trochlil | June 18, 2025

Be careful about getting tangled “We had done a lot to tangle ourselves up.” – Bridget Walsh, Chief Operating Officer at Emergency Nurses Association In a discussion at AMS Fest this week, this is how Bridget Walsh characterized what their AMS of 17+ years looked like as they worked to move from their legacy system to a […]

Discipline. Always discipline.

By Wes Trochlil | June 11, 2025

Discipline. Always discipline. I’ve been producing a newsletter in some form for over 25 years now. I’ve found that certain topics are evergreen; they come up all the time and I feel compelled to write about them again and again. One of those topics is discipline. A quick search of my blog posts shows I’ve […]

Simpler is better

By Wes Trochlil | June 4, 2025

Simpler is better Recently, a client of mine was discussing how they manage membership reinstatements. For example, if a member doesn’t renew within the grace period, is dropped from membership, and then rejoins in less than a year from dropping, are they called a new member, a renewed member, or a reinstatement? After several minutes […]

Older Posts

Take action…

July 19, 2023

Take action… “The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data.” – Peter Drucker This is my […]

The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited

July 12, 2023

The Rule of 100 and 1,000 revisited I’m finding that the “Rule of 100 and 1,000” comes up quite often […]

You gotta wanna

July 5, 2023

You gotta wanna Long ago I heard a training consultant say you can’t train people who don’t want to learn. […]

Be careful not to overbuy

June 14, 2023

Be careful not to overbuy I recently spoke with an association of ten staff that was struggling with their current AMS. […]

When is the best time to clean your data?

June 7, 2023

When is the best time to clean your data? One of the most common questions I get from my clients […]

Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

May 31, 2023

Do the benefits outweigh the risks? As the economist Thomas Sowell points out, there are no solutions, only trade-offs. Every […]

Painting the Bridge

May 24, 2023

Painting the Bridge According to this article, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously year-round. That is, rather than painting […]

Maintenance isn’t sexy

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) […]

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

May 10, 2023

“Will I still have a job when this is done? While working with a client on a new AMS implementation […]

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