What Gin Rummy and OINII Time Have In Common
Dec 14, 2025
The other night, my wife, my youngest son, and I decided to put the phones away and play a card game—something simple, nostalgic, and screen-free. We landed on Gin Rummy, a game I used to play with my dad as a kid. But after 30-plus years, I had forgotten the rules.
Naturally, I turned to ChatGPT to refresh my memory. What I found wasn’t just the rules to a card game—it was a reminder about the importance of slowing down to truly learn. We couldn’t just dive in and play. We had to pause, read, learn, and figure it out together. Only then could we enjoy the experience fully.
That’s a powerful analogy for business. Too often, we’re so caught up in the daily grind—inspections, reports, deadlines—that we forget to step back and evaluate how we’re running things. Are we working in our business or on our business?
Sometimes, you need to pause the game to learn the rules. For appraisers, that might mean taking time to rethink systems, improve workflows, or explore tools that support your decisions. It's not wasted time—it’s preparation that pays off.
Every now and then, it’s worth hitting the brakes, asking questions, and making space to sharpen your edge. Whether it’s a card game or your appraisal business, learning how to play well is what sets you up to win.
Check out The Appraiser Coach Podcast for more info on this topic:
