How to Manage Creative People Without Micromanaging Their Work with Jynafer Yanez

INTRO In this episode, I sit down with Jynafer Yanez, President and co-founder of Archimedes Books and Wolfpack Entertainment, which she built with her husband, author Jonathan Yanez. After 15 years running campaigns at Orange County ad agencies, she became the operator behind his books, which have sold more than a million copies and been adapted into graphic novels and films. Her sci-fi short Forsaken Mercenary won Best Director on the festival circuit, and Women in Publishing named her 2025 Publishing Professional of the Year. We talk about how she and Jonathan run a brand that traditional publishing would put 75 people on, using 2 operators, 2 executive assistants, SOPs, and a clear definition of done. We break down why she hires for potential the way Bill Belichick built the Patriots, how she runs a film set through department heads, and how she gives creatives feedback based on the end goal and market data in place of vague notes about how something should feel. If your business depends on creative people whose work you could never do yourself, this conversation shows you how to hire them, onboard them, and give them feedback they can act on. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Why your business is less unique than you think, and how to borrow models that already work How to hand an executive assistant ownership of an outcome along with the tasks How to hire for potential and grow people into your system How to onboard an EA the way a good novel builds its world, starting small and expanding Why paying a new hire more does not fix bringing them into chaos Why a hiring process the wrong candidates complain about is doing its job How to run a big team through department heads so you are not managing every person How to give creatives feedback that starts with the end goal and leaves the how to them How to settle a creative disagreement with market data in place of personal taste RESOURCES MENTIONED Forsaken Mercenary – Jynafer's sci-fi short that won Best Director Infinity System – the sci-fi pilot JP watched before recording Buy Back Your Time – the idea behind handing off ownership of work Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots – her model for hiring on potential Definition of done – the finish line attached to every SOP The 1-3-1 – how department heads bring her problems to solve together Thrashing – Seth Godin's term for productive conflict 30-60-90 day plan – how JP scopes a new VA's first 3 months CONNECT WITH JYNAFER Website: http://www.archimedesbooks.com/ Instagram:   / jynafer_rose   LinkedIn:   / jynaferyanez   Wolfpack Entertainment: https://www.wolfpackentertainment.co/ Infinity System pilot:    • Infinity System - Full Pilot Episode (A Sp...   Follow @author_jonathan_yanez on Instagram for behind-the-scenes clips, film previews, and weekly book drops. If you enjoyed this episode, follow HIRE TO SCALE for weekly conversations about how to recruit, train, and manage high-performing teams so you can build a business that actually scales. Get More Time Back to Scale Your Business Start here → METEOR (https://www.trymeteor.com/) Download the VA Hiring Playbook here: METEOR VA/EA Hiring Playbook (https://trymeteor.notion.site/The-MET...) Connect with JP: LinkedIn (  / jpforno  ) Instagram (  / jp.forno  ) Get More Time Back to Scale Your Business Start here → METEOR Download the VA Hiring Playbook here: METEOR VA/EA Hiring Playbook Connect with JP: LinkedIn Instagram