My Workspace: Go Fish

ASSOCIATIONS NOW, December 2012 , The A List

Meet Jules. The bright-red betta fish keeps the mood relaxed and conducive to creativity in the office of Maddie Grant, CAE.

"Most of my work is writing, so I believe that my workspace needs to be very zen," says Grant, a social media strategy consultant and coauthor, with Jamie Notter, of Humanize: How People-Centric Organizations Succeed in a Social World. "I have a Mac, of course; a couple of cool quotes to inspire me (the only place I like quotes); a Chinese dragon and Chinese coin for good luck; and my beautiful red betta fish."

Grant reports that Jules was not the inspiration for her blog, SocialFish, though the name suits him.

"Jules is friendly and out going," she says. "He always greets me with a little head-flare."

Alas for Jules, Grant is not a one-fish woman. She has other finned friends at home, including two more bettas, who peacefully coexist with her two cats, Neo and Trinity.

Julie Shoop is VP/editor-in-chief of Associations Now in Washington, DC. Email: jshoop@asaecenter.org

Photo credit: Maddie Grant, CAE