Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

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My most recent posts

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI?

By Wes Trochlil | October 14, 2026

Why bother with a consultant when I have AI? As AI becomes increasingly powerful, the value of using an AMS selection consultant (and many other types of consultants!) starts to come into question. After all, with very well-constructed prompts and responses, an association could develop a very solid needs analysis and RFP that could be used to […]

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 […]

Older Posts

Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management

August 9, 2023

Using the Pomodoro Technique for data management I’m a huge fan of the Pomodoro Technique, which is a time management technique […]

You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates

August 2, 2023

You need a PLAN to deal with duplicates Here’s the thing about duplicate records: No matter what you do, you’ll […]

Asking for more is a good sign…

July 26, 2023

Asking for more is a good sign… A client who had recently implemented a new AMS told me: “I’m concerned […]

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 […]

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