There is ALWAYS a Trade-off

There is ALWAYS a Trade-off

I've written many times about trade-offs (you can read a bunch here). In short, every decision you make, whether you realize it or not, involves a trade-off. And recent news reminded me once again, that not only are there always trade-offs, but often they are unseen.

This article explains how the reduction of acid rain (less sulfur, a good thing!) is now creating problems for wheat farmers (a bad thing!) because the wheat needs the sulfur to create the gluten that makes for good bread.

You can read the details in the article, but suffice it to say, nothing comes without a trade-off. For example, if you choose to stay with your current AMS, you'll save money and you won't have any staff major disruptions. But you'll also have less functionality and maybe your staff has to work harder (e.g., create workarounds).

If you choose to switch to a new AMS, it'll cost you more money and be disruptive for many months, but at the end you'll likely have more functionality, less work for staff, and even a better experience for your members and customers.

But there's always a trade-off.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…

February 18, 2026

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite […]

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!

February 11, 2026

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is […]

Hindsight is 20/20

February 4, 2026

Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy […]

Cheaper now; costlier later.

January 28, 2026

Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who […]

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality

January 21, 2026

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear […]

Don’t forget to celebrate!

January 14, 2026

Don’t forget to celebrate! Truth be told, I’m not a big celebrator. (Maybe it’s because […]

Three thoughts on duplicate records

January 7, 2026

Three thoughts on duplicate records Duplicate records are a reality in any database of any size, […]

Please don’t do this…

December 17, 2025

Please don’t do this… I’ve noticed a trend among online retailers that I want to […]

AI is perpetually patient

December 10, 2025

AI is perpetually patient My friend and colleague Noel Shatananda of fusionSpan was providing me some […]

User adoption is (almost) all that matters…

December 3, 2025

User adoption is (almost) all that matters… I was speaking with an association recently about their […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top