As I autopsy my business relationships with lenders, I am sad. Dodd-Frank makes me mental sometimes, specifically the "appraiser independence rules", which has severed our vocal chords. This laryngitis has regulated us to the sidelines of the commercial real estate ball field. Benched, seemingly until end of times. To be clear, transparency in the appraisal ordering process makes sense on paper since, like any business, there are the unscrupulous. However, "integrity has no need for rules." The authors' also failed to recognize the fundamental differences between the residential and commercial appraising sectors and applied the same rules.

I get "frothy" frustrated with the Act's enigmatical size and scope with 398 rules in an 848 page magnum opus that, like Kudzu, continues to grow. To date, only 40% of the Act has been implemented after three years. Banking regulations are 9% complete with only four out of 44 rules implemented and 33% completion in the mortgage reform category with 16 out of 49 rules implemented.

So instead of stewing about this law, which is not going anywhere, I have decided to change the conversation, specifically the one in my head. Going forward, I will no longer beat the drum that Dodd-Frank needs to be appealed or tweaked for our little corner of the appraisal world. I will stop reminiscing for "the good old days" of appraising. I'm done. Instead, I'll take a cue from the new Pope.

There aren't many organizations older and larger than the Catholic Church, with its 2,000+ years and 1.2 billion followers. Though more recently the organization has experienced serious public opinion damage due to priest molestation, women's rights issues and gay marriage baggage resulting in biblical leadership challenges. However, did you notice what happened when Pope Francis won the Cardinal conclave smoke contest? His transformative style of humility and "owning the objection" communication style is infectious. Among Catholics, he has achieved a 68% favorable rating as compared to the previous 40% rating for Pope Benedict.

He has clearly indicated that the Church has made some significant mistakes, but he would like to refocus the conversation away from the "issues" to the primary mission of serving the poor. Showing off his intellectual Jesuit chomps, Pope Francisā€™s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is like a monster church blog, written in conversational tone sprinkled with liturgical vernacular. Some of his statements have raised eyebrows such as, "If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?" He is also pragmatic as to the extent of work that needs to be done by saying, "I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. And you have to start from the ground up."

Sneaking out of the Vatican in an old Fiat (loosely translated "Fix It Again Tony") to directly serve the poor also illustrates his humbleness and desire to distance himself from former leaders' lofty fashionista modus operandi - kiss the Ecclesiastical Ring and wear the Papal Tiara (three-tiered crown). His words and actions have significantly improved the Church's perception in the world and actually excited the parishioner base. He has also piqued the interest of non-Catholics and those that have long ago left the flock. As goes the coach, so goes the team.