Jonathan Lautermilch runs a book publishing company with his wife (the editor), a launch director, and a sound engineer, and none of them think the same way he does. He built it that way on purpose.

We start with how he manages a team whose brains work completely differently from his and from each other. He talks about hiring people who are willing to say no to him, and why that's saved the business more than once.

From there we get into delegation. Jonathan hands off the parts of the business he's not good at (by his own account, most of the tech side) and holds onto two things he won't budge on: the end goal and the team's core values.

We also talk about boundaries. Jonathan doesn't take texts at midnight, and he tells authors that up front instead of hoping it works itself out.

Along the way: psychological safety, why "do I want to be right or do I want to win" changed how he runs meetings, and the two questions he asks every author before they write a single word.

Jonathan is also the guy helping me publish my own book, so consider this an unfiltered look at what that's actually been like.

00:00 Introduction to Smart Publishing
02:49 The Power of Diverse Perspectives
05:32 Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety
08:37 Defining Goals and Priorities
11:22 The Spectrum of Author Engagement
14:01 Navigating the Writing Process
16:55 Building Trust and Communication
19:49 Consistency in Writing
22:52 Advice for Aspiring Authors
26:31 Final Thoughts and Resources

Find Jonathan at smartpublishingservices.com or on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathanlautermilch