“I’m going to retire because of UAD 3.6. I’m done.”
“I don’t want to learn AI to improve my commercial appraisal firm efficiency.”
These are conversations going on right now.
The old way isn’t wrong. It’s just becoming inefficient. And the new way, let’s be honest, takes real effort. Not just learning a new tool. Effort to rewire how you’ve always worked.
“Some people are not strong enough to adapt to the change. Some people don’t know how to put it into practice in order to go with the change.” Master Shi Heng Yi
That line from a Shaolin monk stayed with me.
In valuation, you can feel something moving. Client expectations. Turn times. Technology. And yet nothing seems to have changed at all. The same conversations. The same LinkedIn posts. The same webinars full of people hoping someone else has the crystal ball.
Here’s what I keep coming back to: it matters whether you’re a person of action. Someone willing to try things, see what works, see what doesn’t and ultimately deliver a business outcome for your clients that rely on you.
There’s about 15% of commercial appraisers leaning into productivity, spending time and money on technology. This leaves 85% on the sidelines wanting to play in the game but not sure where to jump in.
The monk said something else worth sitting with. Mastery requires two things that rarely show up together: willpower and character.
Some people want greatness but can’t endure the process. Others have the discipline but don’t want that particular life.
If I’m honest, most days I’m still trying to figure out which one I am.
Maybe that’s the real work for all of us.