1. Have A Strong Constitution Justices deliver decisions by interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Never let the challenges of running your small business overwhelm your judgment.

2. Trust Your Beliefs Members of the Court maintain supreme confidence in their opinions. Know your core values, and let them serve each day as your guiding light.

3. Treat Everyone With Respect Justices take an oath to do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties... Hold yourself to the highest standards in dealings with customers/clients, employees and suppliers.

4. Address One Thing The Court receives 7,000 appeals each year, accepts about 100, then disposes them one at a time. Focus on your most important issue before moving on to the next.

5. Listen First In your small business, as in court, be sure to listen before deciding, especially when dealing with employees and speaking with prospective customers/clients.

6. Be Decisive Stick with your decision, unless things change and overturning it is necessary.

7. Majority Rules Five concurring votes determine a Supreme Court ruling. Dont wait to make a decision until youre 100 percent certain; when your instinct reaches a majority, move forward.

8. Dissent Is Healthy Justices who disagree with the majority may write dissenting opinions. Encouraging your team to voice their opinions regardless of whether they agree with you will lead you to better decisions.

9. Seek The Best We view Supreme Court justices as our nations top legal minds. Always hire the brightest employees, regardless of the positionand be patient finding them.

10. Skip The Critics Justices adhere to their interpretations regardless of political pressure, public opinion or media hype. Keep negative people away from your decision-making process.

11. Dress Appropriately Justices robes represent the honor of their position. Whatever the attire and dcor for your small business, uphold the standards for everyone on your team.

Copyright 2005 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved.

David Handler

The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, LLC, and specializes in helping franchisees, franchisors and business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he?s been there ? as a franchisee, franchisor, business owner, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.

There are two ?I?s? in accountability ? You and Me! Together we will achieve your destiny.?

David worked with ABC Sports, ESPN and regional sports programmers HSE (now Fox Sports Southwest) and Raycom. He produced more than 700 live events, including NFL football, NCAA football and basketball, and Major League Baseball. Career highlights were broadcasting Nolan Ryan's 5,000th career strikeout and two of the 15 perfect games in MLB history (Mike Witt-1984 and Kenny Rogers-1994). The second earned a national Telly Award for best sports production and was nominated for an ESPY.

In 1988, David awoke in the middle of the night from a dream and wrote down four words: "Notre Dame, football, travel." Partnering with two lifelong friends, David helped Anthony Travel become the Official Travel Service of the University of Notre Dame, Disney's Wide World of Sports? complex and several other universities. Over one five-year period, Anthony Travel was named one of the 100 fastest growing privately held companies in Dallas on three occasions.

After selling his interest in the travel company in 1998, David joined the International Center for Entrepreneurial Development (ICED) - a family of franchises with nine brands and more than 1,000 locations around the world. As senior VP in charge of marketing, he developed creative programs that franchisees used to gain new customers and increase profits.

David founded Success Handler to utilize the skills gained during his 23-year business career in a coaching capacity with franchisees, franchisors and business owners.