Meet John Gordon

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Gordon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

John, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

As one of the smallest kids in my high school, confidence did not come easily. I did well in my classes, but initially had few friends. This changed when I auditioned for a secondary role in a school play. Being on stage is both terrifying and exhilarating, and the drama department became my anchor.

With the move to college, I basically started over. No one in my drama group took the same path. I made a few friends in the dorm, but they graduated or moved away.

In my third year, I moved to co-op housing, basically a dorm where everyone works a few hours a week to keep costs down. This structure encourages interaction among the students, and I made many close friends. I initially joined a kitchen team, cooking breakfast once a week for 100+ fellow students. Then a friend and I decided to run jointly for the position of house manager, and we won. I served two terms with him and then was elected to a third term on my own.

By the time my period as manager was over, I had received a great deal of positive feedback from my fellow students, instilling my first real sense of self-confidence. This feeling remained with me in later years as I went on to assume leadership roles in and beyond my profession.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My professional career as a real estate appraiser came about almost by accident. I had paid for grad school working nights and weekends at hotels. With my M.B.A. in hand but with no exciting prospects, I settled for a full time job in hotel accounting. I liked my co-workers, but the job itself was breathtakingly dull. I eventually approached the hotel owner and offered to spend a few months analyzing his room pricing strategy. He agreed, but said that if I chose to take on the study, I would need to give up my current job. With encouragement from my family and friends, I took the leap.

My research led me to a national firm that specialized in hotel consulting, and they offered me a position. Over the next 40 years, I worked as an appraiser at an accounting firm, a real estate firm, and a bank. I also had a brief (though unsuccessful) attempt at self-employment. When our son was born, I took three years off to be a stay-at-home Dad, and then returned to work.

In total, I appraised nearly 800 hotels and hundreds of apartment buildings and senior living communities. I served on the regional board of the Appraisal Institute, including a year as President. I volunteered as an instructor in appraisal theory at a community college, and designed and taught seminars on hotel valuation. I continued appraising through the pandemic, finally retiring in 2024.

I have always had an interest in music as a singer, a piano player, and an occasionally a church organist. In 1993, around the time our son was born, I began composing music. Members of my church choirs were tolerant of these efforts and encouraged me along the way. “Missa Gratulationis”, my full length choral mass (in Latin), premiered in 2008.

After I retired, I remembered a children’s story that I had written years earlier based on a particularly memorable dream. For an illustrator, I tracked down the artist who had decorated a nearby construction site with a style that seemed to fit the characters in the story. “The Girl Who Liked Pink” was published in 2024. We followed up in 2025 with “The Boy Who Felt Blue”. My late brother, Jim, was the real author in the family. It was he who urged me to push past the inertia and get to work, and I have enjoyed following in his footsteps.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

When speaking with potential appraisers, I have always emphasized three desirable attributes.

First, you should enjoy personal interaction with clients and coworkers. You occasionally will need information from people who are reluctant to speak with you, and a smile or a sympathetic tale can do wonders.

Second, you must be able to write. A new appraiser can be taught how to use a spreadsheet, but the ability to present a readable narrative with correct grammar and a logical flow takes years to develop. Pay attention in your English classes, and do not rely on software as a proofreader.

Third, you need to be able to make a decision. It is always possible to spend time looking for more data or considering alternate scenarios. But at some point, the rubber needs to meet the road. Consider the information available, support your reasoning, and take a stand.

My best advice is to take chances and be flexible. Things don’t always work out the way you plan, but they do work out.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

My wife, Carol, is my rock. For 43 years, she has been my sharpest critic and my greatest source of encouragement. It was she who encouraged me to look beyond what I was and to see what I could become.

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