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

“We run the report three times and get three different results.”

April 15, 2020

“We run the report three times and get three different results.” “We run the same report three times and get […]

How do you know if you’re making progress?

April 8, 2020

How do you know if you’re making progress? We all want to improve our data management, making it better than it […]

Don’t move too quickly OR too slowly

April 1, 2020

Don’t move too quickly OR too slowly This may sound like a big “duh!” but I’ll say it anyway: When it […]

“Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results.”

March 25, 2020

“Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results.” “Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your […]

There is value in just going through the exercise

March 18, 2020

There is value in just going through the exercise I was working with a client recently on helping them adopt […]

Daylight savings and business rules

March 11, 2020

Daylight savings and business rules This past Sunday, most of the US observed Daylight Savings Time and moved our clocks […]

It’s always about priorities

March 4, 2020

It’s always about priorities No matter the size or type of technology project, you will always be faced with choosing […]

Only one can be best

February 26, 2020

Only one can be best One of my (many) pet peeves with software vendor marketing is when an AMS company […]

Seek to simplify

February 19, 2020

Seek to simplify When I work with my clients on system selection or implementation, one of the things I love […]

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