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

Making It Easy To Buy From You

August 23, 2007

When I talk with my clients about how they process orders at their organization (whether it be membership joins and […]

AMS Vendor Offers Free Software

August 22, 2007

Members Only Software has been running a quarterly giveaway of their association management software to “needy” organizations. According to the […]

NCOA and mCOA

August 21, 2007

Vinay Kumar of GRC Direct had a great post on one of the ASAE listservers a few weeks back about […]

ARC Solutions Secures $2 Million in Funding

August 20, 2007

ARC Solutions is one of the many AMS vendors that I track (full disclosure: one of my clients uses them […]

Some ASAE Annual Meeting Thoughts

August 15, 2007

Just got back from Chicago and the ASAE Annual Meeting. I think ASAE outdid themselves once again with this meeting. […]

ASAE's Annual Meeting

August 10, 2007

I'm off to ASAE's Annual Meeting in Chicago. I serve on the ASAE Technology Section Council, so I'll be in […]

How far we've come…

August 9, 2007

In the storage room of my house is a box from a printer that reads "Data Processing Forms." The picture […]

It just keeps happening…

August 8, 2007

A colleague of mine tells me that his hard drive on his laptop has crashed, and it’s unlikely he’ll be […]

"We" vs. "They"

August 7, 2007

I was on the phone today with a hotel, confirming my reservations. The reservations agent asked me for my name […]

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