Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion rapped on the door to request a visit with the Wizard of Oz. The answer they heard was the title above.

While the Wizard of Oz may have had different reasons for avoiding office visits, he did have a good time management policy that more people wish they had.

In a discussion last week about handling office "time robbers", a client relayed the above philosophy for getting things done and handling unsolicited office visits. Salespeople, associates, friends and family who ask for "just a minute" can chew up your daily production like a swarm of locusts.

Whether it is a phone call or an office visit by a time robber, your concentration is needlessly broken until the end of the conversation and then for the following five minutes until you get back up to speed.

How can you avoid time robbers?

1. If you have an assistant, be clear that all calls and visits will have to wait for a block of time. (as an example, the next 90 minutes)
2. Let phone calls go to voice mail.
3. If visitors appear in your office or place of business, and you have no "gate keeper", do not put your pencil down, or make eye contact. Explain you are finishing a very important project. Ask if the visitor can come back later.
4. Explain politely to persistent or pesky salespeople that you have no intention of buying and that no does not mean, "No, not now", it means "No, not ever" and genuine prospects deserve their attention.
5. Take habitual visitors by the hand, escort them to the door and tell them you are on a deadline and cannot afford to spare even a moment and wish them good day.

Distractions, interruptions and idle chatter are the major time robbers of business people. Time is a limited commodity. You cannot buy, borrow or steal more of it. It is our most precious asset, yet we allow others to treat our time disrespectfully.

L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wizard of Oz", understood many things about people and how they think. I'm still afraid of flying monkeys and cackling witches, but I'm not afraid of time robbers. Please forgive me, but I have to close this newsletter right now to get an important project done. I will hang that sign on my door that says, "Nobody sees the Wizard, Not Nobody, Not No How." I'm sure you understand.

"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." -- Richard Bach

"Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of somebody else." -- Judy Garland to her daughter, Liza Minnelli

"Nothing is so far away as one minute ago." -- Jim Bishop

June is graduation month and the Emerson children are changing schools. Elizabeth graduates from high school, Caroline moves up to high school from middle school to join brother Will and Charles moves to middle school from elementary.

The youngest, Phillip, will maintain family representation at Washington Hunt elementary school. When he graduates to middle school in two years, he will close out 18 consecutive years of family attendance at the school. I suppose the family has more seniority at the school than most of the teachers!

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Newsletter topic ideas and comments are always welcome. Send me an e-note.

Life is short, ride hard.

Doug

I also write a weekly electronic newsletter for Professional Horsemen. If you are interested in the business world of horsemen, or have friends in the horse business,take a peek. I am spurring others on to help me promote this newsletter.