What the heck is an “ity,” you might ask? A few weeks ago, I had no idea what it was either. My friend and colleague Nanci Sherman (www.nancisherman.com) and I made it up while collaborating on a book and a series of trainings. Combining our collective wisdom and personal philosophies, Nanci and I are developing culture-based solutions for businesses that want to transform from mediocrity to outstanding.
During one of our brainstorming sessions, Nanci stated that she doesn’t even like the word hospitality because it includes the word hospital and makes her think about being sick. I said I liked it and sometimes have promoted my work in the medical field by saying, “I put the hospitality in hospital.” She replied with the following, “Hospital is already there, so you just put the “ity” in it.” We laughed and did not discuss it again. A few days later, I woke up at two in the morning hearing the words, “The “ity” thing is a keeper.” I turned on the light, took some notes and went back to sleep remembering one of our hysterical bouts of laughter while discussing the “ity”.
In the morning, I wrote Nanci this email:
“Well our muse, Dao Jones the profit prophet, is certainly a night owl. The guy woke me up at 2 am to tell me that “ity” was a keeper. In training, there is an expression called “sticky.” It refers to content that grabs people’s attention and is easily remembered. “Ity” is sticky. It could be the new Lagniappe, the New Orleans tradition of providing the customer with a little something extra, like a little gift, every time they make a purchase.
Ironically, I find the word “ity” is actually expansive. How can something “ity bity” like “ity” be expansive you ask? Well it is the difference between just being a person and having a personality that lights up a room, being a human, caring about humanity, wanting to prosper and living with and in prosperity. It is small but profound.
Underwhelmed yet not wanting to extinguish my creative juices, she wrote me the following ditty:
“There was a road
Without an ity
And Holly said
It was a pity
In fact, it struck her as pretty sh-tty
Someone asked is there wit without witty
But Holly swore by her ity bity
Clung like the dickens to her creativ-ity
Set sail with her personal-ity
And this, folks, is not the finality.”
I still love the term. What if we all got our “ity” on and did one ““ity bity” thing every day to make a difference in the life of someone else, at your place of work or in our own life. It truly would transform mediocrity.
Are you interested in busting a move and getting your “ity” on in your organization? Then you might be interested in my Spirit In Service training program that shows managers and employees how to develop a culture of innovative thinking and an appreciation of the little things we can do that make a big difference in the lives of others and ourselves.