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 – Are we really insane?

July 25, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said the definition of insanity is doing […]

Success is measured by….?

June 20, 2011

According to this poster, which hangs in my childrens’ school (and I’ve seen it in other schools, too), success is […]

New Article Posted – No AMS Ever Failed on Selection

June 16, 2011

I’ve posted a new article on my website. There is a classic management aphorism that no strategy ever failed on design; […]

The path to the best database

June 14, 2011

Here’s a good article in ASAE’s recent Associations Now Technology Guide supplement, including some good advice from yours truly.

How much data is enough data?

June 13, 2011

A database manager recently asked me how to get her staff to enter more data into the database when collecting […]

You love me, you really LUV me!

May 24, 2011

I get high praise from my clients for the work I do, but this one takes the cake:

When calculating ROI, be sure to annualize the savings

May 23, 2011

We all know that ROI = return on investment. When considering any investment, we should consider what the return on […]

"Why do we need this position now?"

May 20, 2011

I was speaking to an association executive recently about the idea of adding a database manager to their staff (I […]

Compliance vs. Commitment

May 19, 2011

The difference between compliance and commitment is simple; compliance means one is doing something because they have to, for fear […]

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