December 06, 2013Judy Sheindlin, the New York family court judge turned TV star, is by all measures a great success. She is happily married. Her program, Judge Judy, is the number-one syndicated show on daytime TV with more than 9 million daily viewers. She even beat The Oprah Winfrey Show in ratings during its final years on television.
The judge works about two days per week during filming season and for this, she’s being paid $47 million, which comes out to around $900,000 per day. As if that weren’t enough, a recent Reader’s Digest poll ranked her as the most trusted jurist in the country, beating out the entire Supreme Court. She’s even more trusted than President Obama, according to the same poll.
But what does the most trusted judge in the country have to say about small business? Plenty. Watching Sheindlin’s show is my guilty pleasure, and over the years, I’ve seen more than a few episodes. The decisions she hands down in court, the reasoning behind her decisions and the way she conducts her own business of being a judge all offer great lessons for us.
Here are the top five:
1. Always Get Paid For What You Bring To The Table
Sheindlin has caused more than a few raised eyebrows for what’s considered to be an exorbitant amount of compensation. Her current $47 million salary is a bump over last year’s $45 million payday and is only the first year of a four-year contract worth more than $180 million. But she deserves every penny. According to Steve Battaglio, TV Guide’s business editor, CBS spends just $10 million producing her show but generates $200 million per year in advertising revenue. That leaves $190 million in gross profits to be split between CBS and Sheindlin. Looked at that way, $47 million seems low.
2. Don’t Sell Out To Sell More
Sheindlin has an acerbic personality—and that’s putting it nicely. Many people, including other famous jurists like Judge Joseph Wapner, formerly of The People’s Court, can’t stand her and believe her methods are unnecessarily antagonistic to plaintiffs and defendants.
