Pro Series with Eric Dillman

What does it really take to lead at the top and keep growing once you get there?

In this episode, I sit down with Dave Garrison, a leadership strategist with over 25 years of experience as a CEO, board member, and strategic advisor to both public and private companies in the U.S. and around the world, including Ameritrade. Dave is the cofounder of Garrison Growth, where he helps organizations of all sizes unlock better performance from their teams.

Dave is also a long-standing member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and currently chairs YPO’s Leadership Development Network, serving more than 30,000 qualified CEOs globally. His work has shaped how top leaders think about communication, accountability, and sustained growth.

We dive into what separates good leaders from truly great ones, how CEOs can scale themselves alongside their companies, and why leadership development is not optional at the highest levels. Dave also shares insights from his Harvard Business School MBA, his experience with EOS, DISC, and neuro-linguistic programming, and what he’s learned from coaching thousands of leaders worldwide.

If you’re a founder, executive, or ambitious leader looking to elevate your impact and lead with clarity, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom you can apply immediately.

This episode is a full pop culture pulse check. I break down the most talked about Christmas toys of 2025, from interactive throwbacks making a huge comeback to franchise driven sets kids and collectors are obsessing over. If you want to know what parents are scrambling to find and what’s actually worth the hype, this is your guide.

Then I shift gears into one of the most interesting music conversations of the year. Tyler Hubbard opens up about Florida Georgia Line, not from a reunion angle, but from a place of healing and rebuilding friendship. We talk about why that matters, how massive FGL’s impact still is in 2025, and what their streaming numbers reveal compared to today’s biggest country artists.

It’s toys, nostalgia, numbers, and real talk about growth, legacy, and what actually lasts when the spotlight changes.

Lateshia Pearson is changing the mindset of women across the globe. As the founder of Women Brunch, CEO of Lateshia Pearson Enterprise, Inc., and creator of the Empower Me Sis mentorship program, Lateshia has built a powerful ecosystem rooted in purpose, confidence, and community.

In this episode, we talk about entrepreneurship, luxury branding, self belief, and what it really takes to step outside your comfort zone and become the highest version of yourself. Lateshia shares insights from her journey as a business leader, mentor, and TV personality on Oprah Winfrey Network’s hit show Belle Collective, along with the mindset shifts that help women build businesses, practice self care, and lead with intention.

If you are an entrepreneur, aspiring business owner, or someone looking for real motivation and clarity, this conversation will inspire you to think bigger and move boldly.

In this episode, I cover a little bit of everything.

I finally fell for a TikTok food trend and tried the viral onion boil, and honestly, it kind of changed me. We also need to talk about why The Polar Express has always been unsettling, because I cannot be the only one who feels this way.

Then there is AI Justin Bieber, which opens a whole new conversation about how weird the internet is getting. I also spiral into a thought about life before caller ID and how people survived not knowing who was calling them, especially the ones who just needed one simple question answered.

And of course, we end it by talking about people roasting Luke Combs album covers, because the internet will always internet.

This episode is completely off topic, slightly unhinged, and exactly the kind of conversations that happen when you let your brain wander.

In this episode, I’m joined by Jaime Holm, Founder and VP of Design at Tinker Tin Company — a powerhouse manufacturing brand that now spans over 500,000 square feet across the USA and Mexico. Jaime shares how she scaled from idea to impact, building an in-house operation that handles engineering, design, prototyping, and project management all under one roof.

We dig into the behind-the-scenes realities of manufacturing at scale, including how Tinker Tin produces 10,000+ units for major national retailers like Boot Barn, Barnes & Noble, Maxi Cosi, and even Red Bull. Jaime breaks down the mindset, systems, and leadership required to grow big without losing the creativity and grit that started it all.

If you’re an entrepreneur, product designer, or someone obsessed with building something bigger than yourself, this conversation will leave you inspired — and ready to think bigger.

This week, we’re covering the issues that really matter: why kids today will never know the lung-shredding character development that came from using a BloPen head-marker-gun. Back in our day, your art wasn’t “digital”—it was created by nearly passing out on a piece of printer paper. Now the markers basically airbrush themselves. How will Gen Alpha ever build lung capacity? Or personality?

We also dive into the existential crisis known as Apple Music and Spotify Wrapped—the annual reminder that your most-played songs say far too much about you, and none of it is flattering.

Then we ask the question every office worker trapped in a freezing parking lot is wondering: why hasn’t a car company invented scheduled remote start like “turn on my heat at 4:55 PM so I can pretend I’m not suffering”? Tech has gone too far in all the wrong directions.

And finally, we address the true holiday mystery: how big of a contradiction is it that Mariah Carey opens “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by claiming she doesn’t want a lot for Christmas… and then immediately demands an entire human being? Seems like a pretty big “lot,” Mariah.

In Episode 222 of the Pro Series Podcast, Eric sits down with Matthew Pohl, founder, operator, author of 18 books, and father of four. Matthew grew up in a thriving entrepreneurial family before losing everything and ending up on food stamps. That pivotal moment sparked a drive that would shape his entire career.

After walking away from a comfortable corporate job, Matthew and his family went all in on building a business from the ground up. The road was anything but smooth, but nearly a year of resilience paid off in a big way. By implementing a powerful model he later named Organizational ReWilding, he scaled his company, multiplied its value by 10 in three years, and exited for an eight figure win.

In this conversation, Matthew breaks down the real lessons behind that success. He shares hard earned stories, practical tools founders can use right away, and bold leadership insights that challenge how organizations grow. If you want a proven and scalable system for building healthier teams, stronger cultures, and high value companies, this episode delivers the blueprint.

Tune in and learn how to rethink your business from the inside out.

In this episode, I sit down with Peter Twohy, Principal of the award-winning 2e Architects and one of the earliest pioneers of Virtual Reality in residential design. Long before VR became mainstream, Peter was using immersive technology to help homeowners walk through their future spaces—bringing clarity, confidence, and excitement to the design process.

Peter has since trained more than 1,500 architects around the world on how to integrate VR into their workflows, shaping how the industry communicates ideas and collaborates with clients. We also dive into his early career in Germany, how that experience sharpened his design perspective, and why personalized, deeply thoughtful homes remain at the heart of his Maryland-based practice today.

If you’re interested in architecture, innovation, or what the future of home design looks like, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode, I’m breaking down one of the coolest hidden details from the 2025 CMA Awards: Luke Combs quietly wore a vintage Omega watch once gifted from Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley. Yes, that watch — engraved and full of country music history.I’m also giving a little pre-Thanksgiving pep talk… including when to go live if the family drama pops off and why someone always brings up politics no matter how hard we try.And to wrap it up, I’m sharing a hot take that might get me canceled: if you can’t lip sync, maybe TikTok lip-sync videos aren’t for you.

In this episode, Eric sits down with award-winning architect Kevin Kennon to talk about the future of sustainable cities, zero-carbon design, and how architecture can reshape the way we live. Kevin brings more than 40 years of experience and a portfolio that stretches from internationally recognized eco-resorts to work featured in MoMA’s permanent collection.

We get into why climate-driven design matters, how urban life will change as 68% of the world’s population moves into cities by 2050, and the real role architects and designers play in creating healthier, more human spaces. Whether you’re an architect, designer, urban planner, or someone who cares about sustainability, this conversation is packed with insight and vision.

It’s a look at what the next generation of cities could — and should — become.