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

Most important news from Personifest so far

April 13, 2015

Last night kicked off Personify’s rebranded annual users conference Personifest. Eric Thurston, Personify’s CEO, discussed several issues related to the […]

Simplify. Always.

April 9, 2015

When I work with my clients, one of my goals is always to simplify things as much as possible. (I’m […]

When do you use your rainy day fund?

April 8, 2015

Most well-managed associations  have an “operating reserve,” which is “rainy day” money set aside for unexpected cash flow emergencies. A […]

How do you eat an elephant?

April 6, 2015

One bite at a time. I’ve always loved this old joke, because it’s so applicable to any sizable project. And […]

Don't let the process slow you down from getting results

April 2, 2015

I’m a process consultant so I love process. But when you work on any project, it’s important to keep the […]

Additional benefits of selecting a new AMS

March 31, 2015

When I help my clients through the process of selecting  a new association management system, they also get the benefit […]

It's about ACTION

March 30, 2015

Long ago, I defined business intelligence as a business process using data to make decisions. The key to the definition […]

“You can always add, but you can’t take away”

March 27, 2015

When discussing how much access staff users should have to the database and its functionality, I always tell my client […]

Yes! Make it easier to join!

March 26, 2015

I was very pleased to read this recent article in Associations Now by Joe Rominiecki about the Society of Hospital […]

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