Blog: Wes’s thoughts, articles, and insights

[ai_chat_window]

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

Best Practices in Association Technology from TMA Resources

January 22, 2013

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out TMA Resources’ video series, Best Practices in Association Technology, featuring some […]

Of data, big and small

January 16, 2013

Two interesting articles on big data have come across my transom in the past few days, and I wanted to […]

New things on my website

December 11, 2012

I’ve made some minor but significant changes to my website. You can now find all of my videos on this […]

Merger Announcement

December 4, 2012

I just received an email from Bill Stover, CEO & President of YourMembership, announcing the  merger of YourMembership and Affiniscape. […]

New Article Posted – When Using Third-Party Systems, Don’t Leave Valuable Data Behind

December 4, 2012

I’ve posted a new article on my website. While most of my clients use centralized association management software (AMS) systems, which […]

New Article Posted – Why Associations Struggle with Business Intelligence

December 3, 2012

I’ve posted a new article on my website.   For over five years, I have been writing about the benefits of […]

Are you asking your customers (or members)?

November 6, 2012

I recently received the monthly newsletter from Matrix Group, one of the many  vendors on my list of AMS vendors. […]

Do You REALLY Know What Visitors Think of Your Website?

October 22, 2012

My friend and colleague Ray van Hilst at Vanguard Technology is conducting an association benchmarking survey about website redesign. Ray […]

Coming soon – iMIS 20

October 9, 2012

I had the opportunity to get a sneak-peak at iMIS 20, which ASI is releasing on December 6, 2012, at […]

Scroll to Top