Steve Katz11.14.22
“Like a Rock” is the title of a famous song written and performed by Bob Seger, the Michigan-born singer-songwriter who became synonymous with the “Heartland rock” genre of music. His songs tell stories, and they’re often coming-of-age tales of love and loss, and growing up in the Midwest, USA, in the 1950s and 1960s. Seger is one of my all-time favorites.
The song “Like a Rock” is autobiographical. The lyrics reflect Bob looking back at his youth, marveling at his strength, conviction and dedication to hard work. Even if you’re not a Seger fan, or of rock music in general, you’ve likely heard the song as it had a 13-year run as the anthem behind a popular Chevy truck ad campaign. If you watched sports on TV between 1991 and 2004, you certainly heard 30 seconds of this song, as it often aired throughout televised games. It was a great fit for sports as it evoked strength, steadiness and vitality. Like a rock, a Chevy truck could overcome any obstacle.
This reminiscing leads me to another Rock – my friend and colleague, Rock LaManna. A lot of parallels and connections can be drawn among these rocks. As Seger looks back on his life in “Like a Rock,” Rock LaManna does the same in his newly published book, the aptly titled They Named You Right. The longtime L&NW columnist and contributor – who these days doubles as The Deal Flow Guy – has authored a business memoir where he shares painful lessons about buying and selling a family-run business during the dawn of the digital transformation of print.
Taking into account the current state of the label and narrow web industry, the book comes at the perfect time. M&A activity has reached a fever pitch, and many family businesses are navigating the uncertain waters of succession planning and exit strategies. Entrepreneurs are also tackling investments in new technologies and entering new markets, all while working on fostering a company culture that upholds family values and ethics.
This is why They Named You Right is something every family business owner should read, as there is much to learn. You see, prior to becoming The Deal Flow Guy, consultant and advisor, Rock LaManna was in the thick of it all.
Behind every multi-generational family business is a story of entrepreneurship, hard work, personal sacrifice and inter-family squabbles. The story of the LaManna family business is no different, though you might say – being one of 11 siblings – this story is a bit amplified.
They Named You Right is much more than a business book. While there are many business lessons to be learned, there are just as many life lessons to glean from. It’s a story of a lot of things – the American dream, coming of age, balancing work and life, strained marriages and family relations, and, in the end, acceptance, reconciliation and redemption.
Throughout the book, Rock shares in great detail the lessons he learned when he bought, grew and sold his family-owned business. Although the process made him a multi-millionaire before he turned 40 – a goal the once self-described workaholic had set for himself – the milestone was more costly to his personal and family life than he ever imagined. In They Named You Right, Rock gets into the drama and difficult business decisions he encountered from an early age. It explores the delicate balance between the “family” and the business elements of a family business. It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when those areas conflict, and the consequences of prioritizing business over people.
Written as a first-person narrative, They Named You Right chronicles the LaManna family’s humble beginning in the USA as Italian immigrants. We get to know Rock’s hard-working extended family, and the trials and tribulations they endured as immigrants and entrepreneurs.
We also get to know Rock’s parents quite well, Carlo and Virginia – both play central roles in the story. I don’t want to give away too much, but suffice to say Rock was afraid the book might be a tough read for his dad. (Spoiler alert: Carlo loved it.)
Carlo was a hard-working press operator for Vomela, who specialized in printing and diecutting embellished tags and labels. After working his way through the ranks – from pressman to plant manager – he cut a deal for a 20% stake in the company when 3M tapped into the label converting process Carlo and his team had developed.
While Carlo eventually acquired full ownership, Rock was following in his father’s footsteps, and he would come to assume the position of CEO. A lot happens along the way, and long after.
I strongly encourage you to read the book to find out just what transpired, and the duality of Rock. They Named You Right reveals two distinct Rocks. The first is a source of stability and strength. Rock was heir to a thriving family business that, at its peak, had profit margins that made its top executive very wealthy. But the second Rock smashed apart family relationships, and in the process nearly crushed himself.
The book will appeal to any family business owner, in particular those in the printing and converting industry. There are plenty of converting industry-specific stories and anecdotes. (3M plays a major role.) It will also appeal to young entrepreneurs who are struggling to find work-life balance.
“I’ve seen first-hand what happens when work and home lives are out of balance,” Rock says. “Listen to a workaholic: working too much will implode your personal life, which in turn can hurt your career. You might call this a lose-lose-scenario: you lose, your family and friends lose, and in the end your business will probably lose, too.”
This is one of “Rock’s Diamonds” – the many nuggets of wisdom featured at the end of the book.
There’s a history element throughout that I appreciate. As the story moves along, it’s chock full of photographs. And the pictures really help tell the story, decade by decade, starting from the 1930s, of people, places and machinery. There’s even a picture of Rock with the Pope.
I’ve known Rock for 15 years now. We always talk sports. Fans of his L&NW column can attest to his passion, as he’s adept at connecting sports and business. In 2022, The Deal Flow Guy seamlessly weaved in and out of hockey analogies to make his points.
While Rock is a New York Yankees fan, he’ll be the first to tell you that it’s not the players that interest him most, but it’s the leaders. For Rock, the owners, managers and general managers are the ones worth watching – folks like Al Davis, George Steinbrenner and Barry Trotz.
This brings me back to Bob Seger. I once heard him talk about the inspiration for “Like a Rock.” He said he wrote the song as an ode to getting older and the feelings he has looking back on what he was like as an athletic young man, strong in stature and conviction.
In They Named You Right, LaManna also looks back. He details his experiences in juggling both family and business, the hard decisions he made and the adversity he had to overcome, both personally and professionally. Like a rock.
This memoir has many takeaways for company owners, so we can call it a business book. But as I finished reading it, I found myself a little choked up, because as much as They Named You Right is about business, in the end, it’s more a love letter to family than anything else. To order a copy of the book, visit www.theynamedyouright.com. All book sale proceeds will go to The Rock LaManna Foundation, which financially supports the underprivileged and children with special needs.
Steve Katz is the former editor of Label & Narrow Web and is now a regular contributor. He is focused on helping companies in the label industry share their news and tell their stories. Follow him on twitter @LabelSteve.
The song “Like a Rock” is autobiographical. The lyrics reflect Bob looking back at his youth, marveling at his strength, conviction and dedication to hard work. Even if you’re not a Seger fan, or of rock music in general, you’ve likely heard the song as it had a 13-year run as the anthem behind a popular Chevy truck ad campaign. If you watched sports on TV between 1991 and 2004, you certainly heard 30 seconds of this song, as it often aired throughout televised games. It was a great fit for sports as it evoked strength, steadiness and vitality. Like a rock, a Chevy truck could overcome any obstacle.
This reminiscing leads me to another Rock – my friend and colleague, Rock LaManna. A lot of parallels and connections can be drawn among these rocks. As Seger looks back on his life in “Like a Rock,” Rock LaManna does the same in his newly published book, the aptly titled They Named You Right. The longtime L&NW columnist and contributor – who these days doubles as The Deal Flow Guy – has authored a business memoir where he shares painful lessons about buying and selling a family-run business during the dawn of the digital transformation of print.
Taking into account the current state of the label and narrow web industry, the book comes at the perfect time. M&A activity has reached a fever pitch, and many family businesses are navigating the uncertain waters of succession planning and exit strategies. Entrepreneurs are also tackling investments in new technologies and entering new markets, all while working on fostering a company culture that upholds family values and ethics.
This is why They Named You Right is something every family business owner should read, as there is much to learn. You see, prior to becoming The Deal Flow Guy, consultant and advisor, Rock LaManna was in the thick of it all.
Behind every multi-generational family business is a story of entrepreneurship, hard work, personal sacrifice and inter-family squabbles. The story of the LaManna family business is no different, though you might say – being one of 11 siblings – this story is a bit amplified.
They Named You Right is much more than a business book. While there are many business lessons to be learned, there are just as many life lessons to glean from. It’s a story of a lot of things – the American dream, coming of age, balancing work and life, strained marriages and family relations, and, in the end, acceptance, reconciliation and redemption.
Throughout the book, Rock shares in great detail the lessons he learned when he bought, grew and sold his family-owned business. Although the process made him a multi-millionaire before he turned 40 – a goal the once self-described workaholic had set for himself – the milestone was more costly to his personal and family life than he ever imagined. In They Named You Right, Rock gets into the drama and difficult business decisions he encountered from an early age. It explores the delicate balance between the “family” and the business elements of a family business. It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when those areas conflict, and the consequences of prioritizing business over people.
Written as a first-person narrative, They Named You Right chronicles the LaManna family’s humble beginning in the USA as Italian immigrants. We get to know Rock’s hard-working extended family, and the trials and tribulations they endured as immigrants and entrepreneurs.
We also get to know Rock’s parents quite well, Carlo and Virginia – both play central roles in the story. I don’t want to give away too much, but suffice to say Rock was afraid the book might be a tough read for his dad. (Spoiler alert: Carlo loved it.)
Carlo was a hard-working press operator for Vomela, who specialized in printing and diecutting embellished tags and labels. After working his way through the ranks – from pressman to plant manager – he cut a deal for a 20% stake in the company when 3M tapped into the label converting process Carlo and his team had developed.
While Carlo eventually acquired full ownership, Rock was following in his father’s footsteps, and he would come to assume the position of CEO. A lot happens along the way, and long after.
I strongly encourage you to read the book to find out just what transpired, and the duality of Rock. They Named You Right reveals two distinct Rocks. The first is a source of stability and strength. Rock was heir to a thriving family business that, at its peak, had profit margins that made its top executive very wealthy. But the second Rock smashed apart family relationships, and in the process nearly crushed himself.
The book will appeal to any family business owner, in particular those in the printing and converting industry. There are plenty of converting industry-specific stories and anecdotes. (3M plays a major role.) It will also appeal to young entrepreneurs who are struggling to find work-life balance.
“I’ve seen first-hand what happens when work and home lives are out of balance,” Rock says. “Listen to a workaholic: working too much will implode your personal life, which in turn can hurt your career. You might call this a lose-lose-scenario: you lose, your family and friends lose, and in the end your business will probably lose, too.”
This is one of “Rock’s Diamonds” – the many nuggets of wisdom featured at the end of the book.
There’s a history element throughout that I appreciate. As the story moves along, it’s chock full of photographs. And the pictures really help tell the story, decade by decade, starting from the 1930s, of people, places and machinery. There’s even a picture of Rock with the Pope.
I’ve known Rock for 15 years now. We always talk sports. Fans of his L&NW column can attest to his passion, as he’s adept at connecting sports and business. In 2022, The Deal Flow Guy seamlessly weaved in and out of hockey analogies to make his points.
While Rock is a New York Yankees fan, he’ll be the first to tell you that it’s not the players that interest him most, but it’s the leaders. For Rock, the owners, managers and general managers are the ones worth watching – folks like Al Davis, George Steinbrenner and Barry Trotz.
This brings me back to Bob Seger. I once heard him talk about the inspiration for “Like a Rock.” He said he wrote the song as an ode to getting older and the feelings he has looking back on what he was like as an athletic young man, strong in stature and conviction.
In They Named You Right, LaManna also looks back. He details his experiences in juggling both family and business, the hard decisions he made and the adversity he had to overcome, both personally and professionally. Like a rock.
This memoir has many takeaways for company owners, so we can call it a business book. But as I finished reading it, I found myself a little choked up, because as much as They Named You Right is about business, in the end, it’s more a love letter to family than anything else. To order a copy of the book, visit www.theynamedyouright.com. All book sale proceeds will go to The Rock LaManna Foundation, which financially supports the underprivileged and children with special needs.
Steve Katz is the former editor of Label & Narrow Web and is now a regular contributor. He is focused on helping companies in the label industry share their news and tell their stories. Follow him on twitter @LabelSteve.