CenterState CEO's John Liddy Shares Leadership Lessons with Syracuse.com

CenterState CEO's Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship John Liddy talked to Syracuse.com's Marie Morelli about leadership, success and innovation as a part of the publication's "Conversation on Leadership Series." Liddy discusses how he came to lead CenterState CEO's innovation and entrepreneurship work, his leadership influences, the best advice he's received and more:

Liddy grew up on Syracuse’s West Side. He graduated from Corcoran High School and the University of Vermont, then moved to Washington, D.C., to start a series of businesses. His mother, former Syracuse University iSchool dean Elizabeth Liddy, was starting her own business, TextWise, and kept calling him for advice. In 1994, she invited him to come home to work with her. 'I never looked back,' he says.

Would you rather have a home run or a bunch of singles?

Can I say doubles?I would certainly say singles. Home runs are great, but they tend to be vanity. A lot of organizations use vanity metrics: “We have X amount of dollars raised.” And I want the next person to be able to start a business. I would just as soon work with a pizza shop owner than a 400-person organization. My goal, like I said, is to start more businesses than we lose, and that really bridges the spectrum. If you just concentrate on the home runs, you lose on the bottom side. That being said, we’ve got to make sure we’re celebrating those home runs and see make sure we’re showing that as an opportunity for other entrepreneurs.

Read Liddy's full conversation with Marie Morelli.