Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

My most recent posts

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 […]

Who own the AMS company is like the weather…

By Wes Trochlil | September 9, 2026

Who own the AMS company is like the weather… When I work with clients to find a new AMS, one of the most common questions I get is: “Is the software company owned by private equity or is it privately owned?” While I think this is a legitimate question to ask and have answered, it […]

“As good or better than me.”

By Wes Trochlil | September 2, 2026

“As good or better than me.” I was recently speaking with a software developer working on AI and we were discussing using natural language querying in an AMS. I told him, “The biggest challenge you face is that the first time the AI is wrong, staff will never use it again.” He agreed but then added: “The […]

Documentation is insurance

By Wes Trochlil | August 26, 2026

Documentation is insurance In a conversation with a client about their data management needs, the client pointed out that if they lost one or two key staff members, so much institutional knowledge would go with them that the association would have real difficulty managing their AMS. I recommended that they should document all of their key processes so […]

It all comes down to fundamentals

By Wes Trochlil | August 12, 2026

It all comes down to fundamentals I’m preparing for a webinar that I’m presenting in a couple of weeks, on using data to improve marketing and communications. This is a presentation (in one form or another) that I’ve made for nearly 20 years, and it includes an excellent case study of one association that dramatically improved their […]

Older Posts

Data management is a process, not an event

September 29, 2016

An event is something that occurs once. A process is something you do continually, over time. It’s that simple. Data […]

More Venture Capital in the AMS Space

September 27, 2016

The latest announcement of venture capital money investing in an AMS company is MemberSuite. As noted here, Revolution Ventures is […]

Are you "enabling" your board?

September 27, 2016

I once met with an association to discuss their data management issues. They were explaining to me that the systems they had […]

New articles posted

September 26, 2016

I’ve posted two new articles on my site: Fewer demos are better than more. Find out why here! What can […]

If you have to choose…

August 29, 2016

Choose customer functionality over staff functionality. Because our websites (customer-facing) and databases (staff-facing) are now intertwined and completely integrated, we may […]

Whether it's your fault or not…

August 23, 2016

Always start the conversation by asking “How can I help you with this?” This can be for anything in life, but I […]

What are the most common benefits from implementing a new AMS?

August 8, 2016

On occasion when working with a client during the selection of a new AMS, my client will say something like […]

Retail sets the expectations of your members and customers

August 5, 2016

In my capacity as a consultant to associations, one of the things I do is pay attention to how retail […]

Some things you'll just have to do yourself (i.e., you can't expect your vendor to do it)

August 3, 2016

One of the more common complaints I hear from my clients is that the vendor doesn’t provide enough information about certain […]

Scroll to Top