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

Avectra Acquires NFI Studios

October 6, 2010

Avectra is one of the major players in the AMS market, and a company with which I’ve been associated for […]

New AMS Vendor Enters the Market

October 6, 2010

The latest product to be added to the large list of companies serving the association market is Membersuite. Membersuite is […]

Single Parenting and Data Management

October 5, 2010

For the past four days I’ve been a single parent. My wife has been on a well-deserved trip (to the […]

New Article Posted – Sometimes You HAVE to Customize

October 4, 2010

I’ve posted a new article to my website. Customizing your database is always an option, but it should be the […]

ASAE 2010 Annual Meeting Recap

August 25, 2010

I spent the last three days attending ASAE’s Annual Meeting in Los Angeles. The event included its usual array of […]

Database Administrator Position Open

August 9, 2010

One of my past clients, the Solar Electric Power Association, has listed a database administrator position. Details can be found […]

It's time for the Fourth Annual One-Question Survey!

July 28, 2010

If you are an association staffer or executive, I’d appreciate it if you could answer my one question survey. It will […]

Membership Director Postion Open

July 21, 2010

One of my former clients, the Licensing Executives Society, is seeking a membership director. LES is located in Alexandria, VA, […]

The Best Blog You're Not Reading

July 20, 2010

There are, of course, millions of blogs on the intertubes these days, so it always gives me great pleasure when […]

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