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

New Article Posted – The Seven Deadly Sins of Database Management

March 18, 2014

I’ve posted a new article on my website. In Christianity there is a commonly known list of “seven deadly sins,” which […]

If you're wondering, just ask

March 13, 2014

As a sort of corollary to my recent post on seeking to understand, I marvel at how often people fail […]

Seek first to understand

March 12, 2014

I sit in a lot of meetings with my clients. These could be meetings where I’m interviewing them, or they […]

Observations at AUDC – Part 4

March 11, 2014

And a final note on the AUDC. This 10th annual event is its last, in this iteration. With the acuisition […]

Observations at AUDC – Part 3

March 10, 2014

Over the course of 2 ½ days at the AUDC, more than 60 sessions were presented, ranging from how to […]

Observations at AUDC – Part 2

March 7, 2014

Abila hosted two sessions on the first day of AUDC, one focused on the netFORUM Pro roadmap, the other on […]

Observations at AUDC – Part 1

March 6, 2014

I had the opportunity to attend the 10th Annual Avectra Users and Developers Conference in Orlando earlier this week. In […]

Manager of Information Systems Postion in Downtown DC

February 26, 2014

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is seeking a talented, self-starter to oversee and maintain its information infrastructure. The […]

Back to Basics – Watch how you do your lookups

February 24, 2014

I was checking into a hotel last week, only to discover that they could not find my reservation. The confirmation […]

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