I can’t remember who said it, but along the way I heard someone say something simple yet profound. When it comes to selecting and implementing a new association management system (AMS), staff need to modify their expectations. That is, they cannot expect the system to be all things to all people. It will have weaknesses. It will have shortcomings. It will do things differently than we are accustomed to. If your expectation is that a new AMS will be the answer to all of your problems, then you need to modify your expectations.
I’ve written and spoken frequently about seeking success and not perfection. This is true in all of life, but especially true when it comes to data management and our AMSes. The data will never be perfect. The database will never be perfect. But we can still be successful with both, especially if we modify our expectations.