Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Guardrails can be helpful!

By Wes Trochlil | October 7, 2026

Guardrails can be helpful! When selecting a new AMS, I find my clients are often very tempted by custom software or “platform” systems (e.g., built on Salesforce or MS Dynamics) because these systems are infinitely configurable. After all, if I can make the system do anything I want, that’s a good thing, right? Well, maybe. In […]

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?”

By Wes Trochlil | September 30, 2026

“If you knew this information, what might you do differently?” I had a conversation with a client recently about developing KPIs, reports, and queries from their forthcoming data warehouse. My client said: “We have a ton of requests for KPIs and reports. How do we determine which to focus on first?” My response: “When someone requests a dashboard […]

Showing is not teaching

By Wes Trochlil | September 23, 2026

Showing is not teaching In my experience, when new staff members are taught how to use their AMS (or LMS, CMS, FMS, etc.) they aren’t really taught how to use the system, they are shown how to use it. So what’s the difference? In a nutshell, showing only covers the “how” and “what.” But teaching […]

Data management is improvisation

By Wes Trochlil | September 16, 2026

Data management is improvisation I was listening to a podcast recently featuring TV writer Rob Long. During the podcast he said (I’m paraphrasing) that, in order to be successful, one needs to learn to improvise, because nothing in life ever goes as planned. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want to make God […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

Older Posts

Buzz2009 Social Media for Associations

June 16, 2009

Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer at SocialFish have put together a fairly amazing social mediea program entitled Buzz2009 Social Media […]

How does your association compare on conducting elections?

June 11, 2009

Want to see how your association compares to others when it comes to conducting elections? The folks at Votenet are […]

Give me value, I'll give you information

June 9, 2009

I frequently hear associations asking how they can get their members and customers to provide more demographic information to the […]

Are you suffering from "Turtle Syndrome"?

June 2, 2009

I first heard this at a workshop presented by Alan Weiss. The turtle syndrome: Companies aren’t moving forward or backward, […]

Forrester Research Validates My Writing

May 28, 2009

Here is Forrester Research on user how to get more value from your CRM implementation: “The biggest culprit in keeping […]

Social Media as a Time Sucker

May 26, 2009

I have accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, and I write blog posts here at least twice a week. I […]

How to Choose a Database Consultant

May 21, 2009

I recently spoke at a meeting for the Canadian Society of Association Executives on how to use my seven step […]

More Transparency from AMS Vendors

May 20, 2009

I like to give props to AMS vendors when they do something really smart. I’ve written about Avectra’s publicly available […]

My fifth favorite tip…

May 19, 2009

This is the last in a series of tips from my book, Put Your Data to Work: 52 Tips and […]

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