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

If you're sending more than five RFPs, you're doing it wrong.

March 31, 2016

I once heard of an association who had worked with a consultant on selecting a new AMS. The consultant had the […]

Where is that data?

March 30, 2016

One of the challenges that I see with many associations is knowing exactly where a given data point is housed within […]

"There are no solutions, only trade-offs"

March 29, 2016

I first heard this from Thomas Sowell many years ago. And I’ve written about it here and here and here. But […]

Vendors: PLEASE stop saying "only" or "first of its kind"

March 28, 2016

Here’s the thing about being “first” on anything. Only ONE company or person can be first. Only one. So when […]

Associations need to formalize and operationalize data management

March 24, 2016

In my 2015 Data Management Benchmarking Survey, I asked associations: “Do you have a formal data management team?” Only 22% […]

To host or not to host? That is the question.

March 23, 2016

I’m often asked by my clients, as they seek a new AMS, should they be looking at hosted options? Or […]

Have you looked at your documentation recently?

March 22, 2016

Many years ago I wrote an article about how important documentation is to the long-term success of your AMS. (You can read […]

"Start as you mean to continue"

March 21, 2016

A client of mine recently said this in a meeting, explaining her momma used to always tell her, “Start as you […]

There is ideal, and then there is reality

March 18, 2016

When it comes to data management, I often encourage my clients to seek the ideal whenever possible, but to acknowledge […]

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