I started practicing law at about the same time that personal computers were becoming affordable. The firm where I worked decided to provide PCs to all of its lawyers and to teach us how to use them. The idea was to increase productivity by allowing lawyers to revise their own documents instead of having a secretary do it, and to shorten the overall time it took to produce a new document. Both goals were fulfilled, sort of… But something else also happened. Where once a document might go through three or four drafts before it was finished, it became commonplace to see eight, nine, ten drafts or more, all in about the same amount of time it had taken to do three drafts before. And yet the quality of the writing did not noticeably improve; the tenth draft was no better than the third, and we weren’t winning or losing more cases or motions than before. The tenth draft was different, yes, but not better, and it soon became apparent that the process of going from start to finish was taking about the same amount of time as before. One thing had changed, though–the drafting process had become more harried and anxious, in part because of the proliferation of drafts.

– Benjamin Sells, in The Soul of the Law — Understanding Lawyers and the Law, an excellent book in the tradition of Thomas Moore. When this book was published in 1994, Sells was a psychotherapist (and former lawyer) who specialized in counseling legal professionals.

The stories in this book are vivid, and Sells provides commentary that is both sophisticated and clear. Much is useful for ADDexecs and anyone who needs insight into why professional careers too often turn out to be far less rewarding and healthy than they might be. As the jacket-notes describe it:

Sells addresses issues that face people in all walks of life–workaholism, materialism, stress, fear of failure, and ethical dilemmas–and explores the loss of meaning, not only in the law, but in busienss, politics, and our every day lives… [and] offers ways to bring fundamental ideals and passion back into our work and balance into our lives.

Faster does not make sooner, more does not make better.