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

FAQs – Do you have them?

February 13, 2008

FAQs are "frequently asked questions." My question for you is: Do you have FAQs on your website for your members […]

Serving Suggestions for your Database?

February 12, 2008

I was having some crackers and cheese spread (Wispride Port Wine) the other day, and noticed something on the side […]

A Simple Training Tip

February 7, 2008

If you do training, whether one-on-one, or in a classroom setting, here's a tip that will increase the learning retention […]

CRM Continues to Disappoint…and here's why

February 5, 2008

"CRM Continues to Disappoint" says the headline of this article on SearchCRM.com. In a nutshell, the companies that were surveyed […]

When is "Good Enough" Good Enough?

January 29, 2008

My friend and colleague Rob Pitzer at the Smithsonian Institution asked me a great question: "How do you deal with the […]

Great New Book Published by ASAE

January 24, 2008

Just received my copy of the book Membership Essentials from ASAE. The book is a collection of writings by association […]

Hot IT Trends for 2008 – The BI Buzz

January 22, 2008

SearchCIO-midmarket.com has a list of five hot IT trends for 2008, and surprise, surprise, business intelligence is on the list. […]

The rule of 100 and 1000

January 17, 2008

One of the steps during the database implementation process is data conversion. Part of the data conversion process is identifying which […]

Why you can't eliminate dupes

January 15, 2008

I’ll frequently hear from my clients and other database managers, “Our members keep creating duplicate records of themselves, rather than […]

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