Old 'Experts' vs. New 'Everyday Joe'

Okay...

Let's talk about the subject of these so-called 'Expert' Appraisers with all the designations and Financial Degrees up the yin-yang. As many of you know I am a lifelong martial artist with over 30 years experience in the martial arts. Now...as far as my knowledge of the 'fighting arts' is concerned, you could say I have a PhD. But what does that really mean and how does it relate to appraising? We'll cover that at the end...

I know most of you probably don't follow martial arts that much...but for me it's a passion. Back in the day there was a misconception that if you had a black belt, that meant you were deadly. Well, about 10 years or so ago there was this thing called the Ultimate Fighting Championship where they decided to put the top black belts in their respective styles to the test to find out which style was the best and which black belts were the 'deadliest'. They would put the men (and women later on) in a cage and with limited rules...let them fight. Not pretty...but it was an effective experiment.

To make a long story short...what they found out was that most of what these 'black belts' had learned was ineffective and USELESS. In fact...after a short time we saw that people with 30 years of experience would often get beat by someone with as little as 6 months of training. What the 'f was going on here? Shouldn't a lifelong martial arts 'killer' beat an 'Everyday Joe'? People were baffled...

Actually...what was happening was quite elementary. You see...with the implementation of actual fighting, the people who began training after the fighting was implemented...began training using what worked in the cage instead of what black belts were 'told' what worked. They saw what was effective in the cage and only trained with that while the 'Old Killers' kept training in their old ways...ie, kicking and punching in the air making 'killer' sounds and acrobatic moves but never really bridging the gap of exercise versus reality.

Eventually, the pragmatic pugilists...the 'Everyday Joe's' approach took over. Now the sport is filled with a new breed of extreme athlete scholars who have left the 'Old Killers' in the dust licking their wounds. This new breed had built their training on a foundation of 'Realism' versus 'Conjecture' and has since elevated the sport to a new level.

So...how does this relate to Appraising? What you are going to find out there are quite a few 'know-it-all' AGs and ARs who don't want to give you the time of day because you don't have the qualifications or experience that they do. They are too important...and arrogant to show you what they know. They believe they've worked too long and hard to get their degrees and designations to take time out of their busy schedule to help you...and since you don't have a degree, you couldn't possibly understand what they know anyway so why should they bother.

The truth that they don't share with you is that they had to learn the appraisal business world from scratch...and that ain't taught in school. It's taught in the 'Cage' of the real working world. And the truth is that one doesn't need a financial degree to do appraisals...one just needs to do good work/appraisals. And yes...you do need knowledge but it has to be functional knowledge.

Sure it helps to have extra schooling...but building your foundation from concepts that aren't used in the 'real-world' of appraising is the long road to success. You should concentrate on building your business with 'What Works' and not with what you need to gain another notch in the 'Inner Appraiser Social Ladder'.

The point of all this is that there 'IS' a difference between what 'WORKS' in reality and what's there for ego. 6 Months of Realistic Experience and Training can be worth 30 Years of 'Supposed Mastery' and designations. Build your foundation on 'What Is' versus what the consensus 'Says' what is. You don't need a PhD or Financial Degree to be an appraiser. You need Good, Functional, Realistic Training...period.

See you all in the 'Cage' Soon!


Ed