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

Another reason I prefer off-the-shelf software

November 22, 2013

I’ve written several items in the past about why associations are better off with off-the-shelf association management software rather than […]

Attending the Euclid ClearVantage Users Group Conference

November 20, 2013

I got the opportunity to attend the Euclid ClearVantage Users Group Conference earlier this month. One of the reasons I attend […]

In Case You Missed It – Webinar on Business Intelligence

November 19, 2013

On November 5, 2013, I did a 30-minute webinar with Matrix Group International on “Mining Your Association Management Software for […]

New Article Posted – The Difference Between Data Management and Database Management

November 18, 2013

I’ve posted a new article on my website. As the title of this article suggests, there is a difference between data […]

It's all in the cloud now

November 7, 2013

I recently had a client ask me to help them find a new association management software system. They were very […]

Why Financial Controls are SO Important at Non-profits

October 28, 2013

If you’re a manager at a non-profit, this story in The Washington Post is a must-read. As I wrote here, […]

New Article Posted – Fast Tracking Implementation

October 22, 2013

I’ve posted a new article on my website. When an association recently approached me to help them select and implement a […]

In case you missed it

September 27, 2013

You can still listen to the non-dues revenue webinar I participated in with ACGI Software earlier this week. Here’s a […]

Don't Generalize from a Specific

September 25, 2013

I first heard this advice from Alan Weiss, consulting guru. The idea is that extrapolating a rule from a single […]

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