Eric Lazar, President and Owner of SpeedPro, was not always the successful, respected, approachable leader he is today. 

In this episode – Authority for Growth: Insights from the Military and the Courage to Transform Your Leadership – Eric tells us about taking in tough feedback, why he led in ineffective ways in the past, and what he now watches out for to ensure he’s a leader that truly engages those around him.

About the Guest:

In 1986, Eric Lazar decided to forgo acceptance into several universities and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Eric served as an Intelligence Specialist with both a Combat Engineer Battalion and an Electronic Warfare Squadron with two overseas deployments.

Eric’s transition into the private sector was fraught with challenges, unable to find his calling, a sense of purpose, or adopting to the culture of a corporate environment. In the years that followed Eric pursued 3 different entrepreneurial ventures and held a number of corporate sales positions, creating in each role a track record of driving impressive growth.

Eric’s third and current entrepreneurial effort is SpeedPro Chicago Loop. SpeedPro Chicago Loop (http://www.speedprochicagoloop.com/) is a NVBDC certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business specializing in large-format digital printing company which encompasses corporate décor, brand activations, event signage, exhibits & trade show displays, wall, floor, window & ceiling murals, glass finishes, vehicle wraps, posters, banners, et al. Their client roster is broad, partnering with renowned brands that include Live Nation, Salesforce, and The Obama Foundation.

SpeedPro is dedicated to being a great corporate citizen, donating a minimum of 1% of proceeds in the way of product and services to charitable organizations; and is the winner of the International Franchise Association’s 2022 Franchisee of the Year, Inc. Magazine’s List of Fastest Growing Companies in the Midwest, as well as the only two-time ‘Project of the Year’ winner. 

Eric is a past President of the SpeedPro Imaging National Franchising Advisory Counsel and sits on boards and in leadership roles for several veteran organizations to include Project Relo and Chicago Marines Foundation.

About the Host:

Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author and consultant. She has over 2 decades of experience developing leaders at all levels. Her clients include Cisco Systems, Deloitte and Barclays.

As a trusted leadership coach and consultant, Amy has worked with hundreds of leaders one-on-one, and thousands more as part of a group, to fully step into their leadership, create amazing teams and achieve extraordinary results. 

Amy’s most popular keynote speeches are:

• The Courage of a Leader: The Power of a Leadership Legacy
• The Courage of a Leader: Create a Competitive Advantage with Sustainable, Results-Producing Cross-System Collaboration
• The Courage of a Leader: Accelerate Trust with Your Team, Customers and Community
• The Courage of a Leader: How to Build a Happy and Successful Hybrid Team

 Her new book is a #1 international best-seller and is entitled, The Courage of a Leader: How to Inspire, Engage and Get Extraordinary Results.

 www.courageofaleader.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyshoopriley/

Resources mentioned in the podcast

The Inspire Your Team to Greatness assessment (the courage assessment).

How can you inspire our team to be more proactive, take ownership and get more done?

You demonstrate and empower The Courage of a Leader. In my nearly 3 decades of work with leaders, I’ve discovered the 11 things that leaders do – even very well-intentioned leaders do – that kill productivity.

In less than 10 minutes, find out where you’re empowering and inadvertently kills productivity, and get a custom report that will tell you step by step what you need to have your team get more done.

https://courageofaleader.com/inspireyourteam/

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to The Courage of a Leader podcast! If you got inspired and/or got valuable leadership techniques you can use from this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share using the social media buttons on this page. 

Do you have questions or feedback about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

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Teaser for next episode

Stay tuned for our next podcast episode – Impact Engine: The Magic of Authenticity, Sustainability and Investing with Your Values – with Jessica Droste Yagan. 

Learn more about the power of being authentic and the impact of your values.

Mentioned in this episode:

The Inspire Your Team to Greatness assessment (The Courage Assessment)

https://courageofaleader.com/inspireyourteam/