The valuation industry is stuck waiting for someone else to open the gates.
Waiting for a perfect solution.
Waiting for clearer standards.
Waiting for better data.
Waiting for fewer unknowns.
Waiting while the industry changes anyway.
Meanwhile, the water is already moving.
I realized this recently while on a canal boat trip in the South of France. Four boats. Twenty people. A week of tiny towns, too much bread, and enough wine to convince ourselves we knew how to speak French.
Sure, the scenery was amazing throughout the Loire Valley. But my attention was elsewhere.
It was the canal locks.
With frequency, we reached another one: massive concrete chambers designed to raise or lower boats between sections of water. At first, we waited for the lock master to arrive on a bicycle or moped and operate everything for us.
Which felt reasonable, safe, the thing you’re supposed to do.
When 150,000 gallons of water starts rushing into a chamber, the pressure is hard to ignore. Boats shift with a bathtub-like effect before slowly floating upward to meet the next section of canal.
The system looked intimidating until it became familiar.
After enough repetitions, something changed. We stopped waiting for someone else to manage the process.
With a mix of confidence and impatience we decided to take control.
One person jumped off the boat.
One grabbed the lines.
One worked the gates.
One monitored water levels.
Everyone had a role.
By the end of the trip, we were running locks ourselves and helping other boaters. After 30-plus locks, what originally felt foreign became routine.
That’s where the valuation industry is right now.
Valuation professionals are still sitting in the lock with engines idling, waiting for permission to move forward while technology, workflows, and client expectations continue changing around them.
Those making progress stopped waiting for perfect certainty before learning the system.
They started experimenting.
Testing workflows.
Adjusting processes.
Learning by doing.
That’s especially true with AI.
Some organizations are still waiting for others to tell them exactly how AI should fit into review workflows, quality control, or appraisal operations. Others are already learning where it helps, where it doesn’t, and where human judgment still matters most.
Progress rarely starts with complete confidence.
It starts with participation.
The canal locks didn’t become less powerful or less complicated over time. We simply became more comfortable operating within the system.
That’s the opportunity in front of this industry right now.
Learn the system.
Move the boat.
Help the next group through the lock.
Eventually, the gates open.