To a degree I agree with you, in that it is the prayer that is important
and not the minute hand on the clock. For this reason I wonder about the
practice in some synagogues to post lists saying something like: 5 minutes
for birchos kriat shema, 6 for silent shmona esreh, etc. Although I'm sure
the intention of the gabbai or rov who put up these lists are l'shaym
shamayim, it makes the tefila keva (set) - perhaps one day during a time
of famine, the congregation would want to pray tachanun slowly- although
then I'm sure the rov wouldn't protest.
I sympathise with the origional author, that people must get to work, and
some people have long drives before it gets to work, and getting up for
minyan at all takes alot of mesiras nefesh. For example, in the Bostoner
Beis Medrash in Har Nof, I know there used to be a 5:40 minyan- which was
before the zman (appropriate time), for the people who needed to get to work.
However, there must be a balance, a shvil hazahav (golden line) between
saying all the words with kavana and finishing on time, and that decision,
within certain bounds is a personal one. They say that they once asked one
of the gedolim, I think the Satmer Rebbe or Reb Chaim Sanzer, I forget, how
he gets along with so little sleep, and he answered that "some people eat
faster than others.. BH I sleep faster than others." Similarly, kavana is
not something that I can say, "If you daven in 45 minutes you have less
kavana than someone who davens in 60." It is subjective..
However, in general, a longer davening entails more kavana. Reminds me
another story, I think of Reb Elchonon Wasserman, (zt"l HYD), that a
student once came to yeshiva and davened for the amud, and davened very
quickly, and reb elchonon came to him and said now we are in yeshiva, we
daven slowly.. It is a klala to daven quickly, like is says "v'nastem veyn
rodef acharayhem" - that you run when no one chases you..
Regards from Israel,
Saul
Rehvot, Israel