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

Be careful about requiring a home phone

January 30, 2017

I was completing an application online today for an organization I was joining. One of the required fields was “home phone.” […]

Users meetings now augmented with quarterly calls

January 27, 2017

I’ve always been a HUGE advocate of software users groups. When I was on staff at an association and a […]

Do you know your member "sweetspot"?

January 27, 2017

When I talk with software vendors who are new to the association space (or at least new to me!), I […]

Users meetings now augmented with quarterly calls

January 26, 2017

I’ve always been a HUGE advocate of software users groups. When I was on staff at an association and a […]

Do you know your member "sweetspot"?

January 25, 2017

When I talk with software vendors who are new to the association space (or at least new to me!), I […]

Don't be afraid to follow your gut when choosing software

January 24, 2017

Consulting guru Alan Weiss often says “Logic makes you think, emotion makes you act.” I’m reminded of this when I […]

Are you using all of your AMS's features? And should you?

January 23, 2017

I read today that Nielsen reports that the average household has 189 channels. They watch 17 of them. That means the […]

Does your technology have a single point of failure?

January 20, 2017

If you read my work, you know that I have a strong bias for off-the-shelf (OTS) software for managing an […]

It's all about education, which for many associations means an LMS

January 18, 2017

One of the most significant trends that I’ve seen in the association market over the past two years is a […]

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