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

Things I heard at ASAE Tech Conference V – Testing plans

January 10, 2012

During one session I attended at the ASAE Tech Conference, the issue arose of testing in the AMS during implementation. […]

Things I heard at ASAE Tech Conference IV – How to deal with the fear and pain of a new AMS

January 6, 2012

At one session I attended, an audience member asked the question quite plaintively: “How do we deal with the fear […]

Things I heard at ASAE Tech Conference III – Modify your expectations

January 5, 2012

I can’t remember who said it, but along the way I heard someone say something simple yet profound. When it […]

Things I heard at ASAE Tech Conference II – How do I set up an internal users group

January 4, 2012

I’m a huge proponent of internal users groups, which I’ve written about here and here. At a session I attended, Jamie […]

Things I heard at ASAE Tech Conference – Why should I use a consultant?

January 3, 2012

Over the course of the next couple of posts, I’m going to write about several things I heard at ASAE’s Tech […]

Check out my guest blog post at Avectra

December 12, 2011

Avectra is running a series of guest blog posts for the next 12 days. You can find my post here, […]

A free idea for the AMS vendors (from one of my clients)

December 6, 2011

I was speaking recently with Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of the Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals, in Austin, TX. Frank had […]

Don't forget about ASAE's Technology Conference this week!

December 5, 2011

I’ll be speaking twice at the ASAE Technology Conference this week (Wednesday, December 7). My first session, with Rene Shonherd, […]

New Article Posted – Four Reasons to Establish an Internal Users Group

November 17, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. A few years ago one of my most successful clients told me that […]

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