Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

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

The “S” stands for “Standard”

October 9, 2019

The “S” stands for “Standard” In a conversation with a past client, we were discussing the importance of standard operating […]

New article – What’s Good in Data Management

September 27, 2019

I recently read the book Factfulness, which highlights ten things about the world that are better than most people think. (The […]

Is that meaningless data?

September 25, 2019

Is that meaningless data? I’m not a big quotes guy, but one of the few I love comes from Peter […]

Be aware of unintended consequences

September 18, 2019

Be aware of unintended consequences I’ve written before that every decision involves a trade-off. When considering the trade-offs that every […]

Positive change is harder to see

September 11, 2019

Positive change is harder to see Humans are wired to see negative change because we need to protect ourselves; a […]

MVP: Minimum Viable Product

September 4, 2019

MVP: Minimum Viable Product In product development there is a concept known as MVP, or minimum viable product. Simply put, […]

You always need a reason for collecting data

August 28, 2019

You always need a reason for collecting data When you ask for data from someone (member, customer, prospect, etc.) there […]

Two new articles on the site

August 26, 2019

I’ve added two new articles to my website: Improvement by Subtraction and Another Missive from the Trenches. To get these […]

If you’re unhappy, speak up!

August 21, 2019

If you’re unhappy, speak up! My clients will often ask me something along the lines of the following: “I’m not […]

Scroll to Top