Making Room for Something Better
Throwing away my MAI was a declaration: We can do better. 100x better. I believe in appraisers. I believe in the next version of our industry. We are the stewards of what’s next. Local Appraisal Institute chapters bring the mojo, but national feels like a bad relationship that’s hit rock bottom. Not just firing […]
Throwing away my MAI
I’ve always felt like an outsider in the Appraisal Institute. Maybe it’s because I rarely attended their meetings, never mingled with the right circles, or perhaps I just didn’t see my values reflected in the organization’s leadership and education. Yet, despite that distance, I got my MAI. I built my career in the valuation space. […]
The Quiet Rift That Shouldn’t Exist
“I do bank work.” It’s like an uncomfortable confession by many fee appraisers. The disconnect between chief appraisers and fee appraisers isn’t just a communication gap. It’s a relationship problem. One rooted in old assumptions, reinforced by lack of communication and made worse by appraisers working in the shadows. This issue isn’t across the boards […]
The Pirate Playbook for Bank Efficiency
The pirate patch wasn’t about an eye injury. It was really about efficiency. Topside: Patch on the right eye, left eye adjusted to bright light.Below deck: Switch the patch to the left eye, right eye already adjusted to darkness. No downtime. We’ve romanticized pirates. But if you strip away the parrots and plunder, you’ll find […]
Cynical Appraisers Lose: The Benefits of an Optimistic Mindset
People think that cynicism is a sign of intelligence. It’s not. We often think of cynics as realists, those who see the world for what it truly is. They don’t. 85% of people think a cynic will be a better lie detector than a non-cynic. They’re wrong. So most people have faith in people who […]
Choose Your Hard: The Paradox of Running Appraisal Teams
It’s hard to run a poorly managed appraisal department. It’s hard to run an efficient appraisal department. It’s hard to run a poorly managed appraisal operation and it’s equally hard to run a well-organized one. The question is: which hard do you want to live with? We don’t always choose what will help us win-we […]