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

Make sure your system has broad support

June 10, 2020

Make sure your system has broad support An AMS vendor pointed out to me recently the danger of buying a […]

You have to have the right people in place

June 10, 2020

You have to have the right people in place This may seem obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: All the best […]

Ask “What” not “Why”

June 3, 2020

Ask “What” not “Why” As a consultant, one of my favorite questions to ask my clients is “Why?” As in, […]

Engagement is measured by the customer

May 27, 2020

Engagement is Measured by the Customer I’ve written a bunch about measuring engagement in the past. (Click here to read one of my […]

Yes, you do have a process for that

May 13, 2020

Yes, you do have a process for that When I work with clients on pretty much any issue, a question […]

“Correct your mistakes before they become your habits”

May 6, 2020

“Correct your mistakes before they become your habits” Yet another great quote from James Clear: “Correct your mistakes before they become […]

Sometimes it’s a process issue

April 29, 2020

Sometimes it’s a process issue When I work with clients on developing a needs list for functionality in a new […]

First ask: “How will I use this data?”

April 22, 2020

First ask: “How will I use this data?” Whether it’s during data conversion, adding a new data field, or reconsidering […]

New Article Posted

April 17, 2020

I’ve posted a new article on managing volunteer data. Click here to read it. One thing that distinguishes associations from […]

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