Philosophical Digression

So, do I get to digress off topic, even though this is supposed to be a professional blog? But of course I do, because it's mine. I'm starting to get why so many people start one of these deals.

We have had some big changes to our office in Chicago, at the same time as readying our Michigan office for its opening on December 1, 2006. The changes in Chicago were all organizational and cosmetic. It took quite a bit of effort, but the improvements are worth it. We have new carpet, new paint on the way, and we got rid of nearly two dumpsters of stuff we didn't need. Those changes were met with skepticism and reticence by staff (you know who you are :)), but we plowed ahead and did everything we set out to do, and the office is cleaner, more pleasant to the eye and most importantly, more functional for our client's sake. The question that arose during the process, and one that arises in all of our lives on a daily basis, was, when does functionality trump appearance? And on a broader level, should appearance ever matter?

I guess I'd answer those questions separately. Functionality can be more relevant than appearance, but in the professional realm, they merge. Clients trust us more if the office looks good. We find things more easily, saving valuable time, when we have two dumpsters less of stuff in the way. Maybe the better question is, why do we judge, at least initially, based on appearance?

The messy lawyer's office might be able to produce a better product than the neat freak. I've seen some pretty fine lawyers with horrendously cluttered offices. But I've seen more top-shelf lawyers with neat offices. I believe that is because highly functional people are generally well-organized, because it saves time. Time is the only asset we have (as professionals and as people) that we cannot make more of. That finite resource can only be economized, but never replicated. That means that as professionals (and people), we had better have a concrete plan. Not in a broad sense, but in an everyday sense. I map out my day down to the :10 block the night before, so that I am never meandering through my day. I have to, or I'd never be able to get as much done as I need to in order to practice at the level I aspire to be at in this profession.

Similarly, everyone has to have a personal plan if you don't want to be on your deathbed wondering why you lived so haphazardly - and my guess is a whole bunch of people find themselves in exactly that situation. I'd submit that the appearance of organization personally might not mean you have a neat car or a neat house. The need for organization and functionality in one's personal life does not revolve so much around tidiness in the physical surrounding as it does in the emotional wherewithal of a person. What I mean by that is, to be fully functional - to be able to meet your goals, explore this incredible world, grow as a human being - you have to be able to convey your own needs, see to the other people's needs in your own life that you've promised that to, and have a nearly constant dialogue about both, or those relationships get screwed up in a hurry. That applies to spouses, partners, friends and family. A part of that is mapping out the boundaries that you will respect, as well as beyond which you won't feel/owe obligations to the other party. All of that is what constitutes organization on a personal level.

Some of that personal (emotional) organization bleeds over to us as professionals as well. Whenever I have a crying client in my office - and I don't often; generally that only happens at the first consultation when things are a mess before we have had a chance to make things better - I always tell the person I'm not going to be able to be in that place with them. I can't. My job is as simple as it is complicated: analyze the problem, map out a strategy for fixing the problem, and then getting to it. Line 'em up and knock 'em down, one by one, step by step, until we will the sought after result to happen in reality. I would like to empathize, hold the persons hand, and tell them I feel their pain, but that's beyond my role in their life. I understand their dilemma, and I'll do what I can to fix it (which is usually enough), but I can't be their friend or surrogate family.

Appearances do matter to the extent they impact function. Judging based on appearances is overrated, and usually not accurate, and maybe that is the point worth mulling over. Thanks for allowing the digression. Back to immigration law next time.