The Rock says

It was great being in college and a professional wrestling fan during the early 2000s. Every Monday night the two wrestling companies, World Championship Wrestling the now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, put on competing television shows. A bunch of us dorks would all pick a dorm room, set up two TVs and pile in with food and drinks for a Monday night party.

One of the biggest stars at that time was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and one of his famous catchphrases was “Know your role and shut your mouth.” Words to live by, right?

Well, that saying — the first part at least — kept replaying in my head as I read this month’s cover story.

It chronicles the growth of a family-run company, Royal Landscaping, where the brothers who operate it almost parted ways a couple of times because they didn’t know how to work together.

But things changed when the family members finally defined each other’s roles and responsibilities.

It’s a common problem I hear from different companies — things are dicey until they figure out who does what. Once those roles are defined and communicated, a lot of the problems go away or become less significant. While dividing up responsibilities can be uncomfortable, it needs to happen in order for the business to function.

Of course, it’s not always perfect, and there will always be disagreements at work, especially in a family business.

But if you’ve established who does what ahead of time, it becomes much easier to manage situations when they arise. The others may not like it, but they have to respect it.

Oh, and the second part of The Rock’s statement can also be true. Sometimes it’s best to shut up and listen to what others are trying to say before you say your piece.