In the film, Silence of the Lambs, Dr Hannibal Lecter gives Clarice Starling, an insight that was the catalyst for her capturing her quarry; serial killer Buffalo Bill. He said, "We covet what we see"; an absolutely brilliant observation, and the main reason why the workplace is your most fertile hunting ground. It is your Serengeti, your Amazon, the watering hole where your catch congregates; where you get to observe and stalk a huge variety of prey in their natural, and most vulnerable environment.
And just like the lion on the African plains, or any other predator for that matter, you should obey the first rule of hunting prey, which is to hunt the most vulnerable.
This is why we have seen countless images of a lion, with its superior size, strength and skill, killing a lightly built, young or sickly gazelle. The lion instinctively knows that attacking bigger, stronger prey, could see them get injured, which leads to them being unable to hunt anything at all, eventually leading to them dying from starvation. So too must you obey this rule, to avoid damage, that could have dire consequences.
So how do you identify prey? Keep your eyes open – covet. Just like a herd does, some animals are ostracized, isolated, beaten up, and run out of the herd. For the workplace, this would be the woman who none of the other women like. She won't have many friends, and generally speaking, she won't be a fighter, instead, preferring to do her work, separate and apart from the rest of the workplace.
So whilst isolation and a general peaceful demeanour are the first signs of good prey, no better indication of your next meal is signalled, as when she says words to this effect, Sigh! "My husband does not...."
It does not matter what comes next; her complaining about her spouse forgetting a special date, not buying flowers and chocolate anymore, or failing to put down the toilet seat, and cover back the tube of toothpaste, should be music to your ears.
A woman at the workplace complaining about anything her spouse does, is like a gazelle bleeding from a wound. Its signal is so loud and clear, that all hunters' senses peak when it is uttered.
Your next move is to glide in stealthily to observe, and sometimes test the state of the wound. A hello, a deep look in the eyes as you pass on the corridor, or an "accidental" bump in an elevator or flight of steps, ensures that she knows that you are there, but not necessarily hunting her as yet, as some of the younger, more inexperienced bucks might be apt to do.
Your next move would be to further isolate her, just like the lion does, and implant seeds of distrust about the other guys preying on her in the workplace.
Don't be fooled, women know when they are being hunted. And they know how to send out the right signals. The only complication for them is who is going to do the slaughtering. By demonstrating your maturity, honesty and calculation, she will be more likely to fall "victim" to you and not another.
Look at the outcome of a predator stalking its prey. It is swift, often brutal, energy filled and, overwhelmingly exhilarating. So too must your attack be.
Gorge yourself on your quarry, but don't linger, because other predators lurk, and so too do the vultures, ready to pick apart the carcass, and anything else left there.
Ideally, hunters share, either by actively inviting, or by feeding enough, and walking away, so others can get their turn.
Knowing that this type of hunting is dangerous, and it depends on inexplicable timing on your part, good hunters know when they have had enough, and when to walk away.
It is usually when the vultures start circling that they signal to everyone else, that feeding is taking place.
Every workplace has vultures, and if you are not mindful of them, and their prying eyes,from up high in the shadows, you will be caught feeding.
Walk away, and more likely than not, another less skilled predator will take your place. It's much better that he gets caught feeding instead of you.
At this point, I would like to once again raise the value of sowing seeds. Whether it occurs because of the last throes of your office fling, or the stink and decay that the office vultures trade in, sometimes your primary woman gets wind of your hunting.
For this reason, it is recommended that you plant seeds such as, "I think this woman from the office likes me", followed by, "I think she might be a little cuckoo", quickly followed by, "I just talked to her once and it seems like I see her everywhere I go."
You have implanted that she is first of all, interested in you, reinforced it with, she's kind of crazy, and finally sealed the deal with, she might be obsessed.
But it's a fine line to walk, so before your primary starts to lose it, by coming down to the office to straighten out the bitch, you end the seed planting with, "Thank goodness, she seems to have focused her crazy on Jim.
So whether the information comes your Primary's way from vultures ,or a rotting carcass; you have ensured that in her mind, your coworker is a rotting troubled corpse.
The office, just like any other hunting ground, has one more very significant issue; and that is rivalry.
Males have been, for millennia, competing for the attention and trappings of the female, and the workplace is not any different.
The poor idiot who you let feed after you did, and who got caught by prying eyes, will be much more wary next time. He will remember that you were partly responsible for his situation. Therefore, it is also important to sow the seeds that there is office rivalry.
Now you can't admit to your primary that this is because of other women, so instead, you lay blame on office politics, a promotion and the perennial favourite – office sports.
Women know how seriously men take sports, and challenges to their manhood, so she will better understand a guy who you have already established as an office rival hinting, or outright saying, that you are involved in office affairs.
The value of sowing seeds can not be more emphasized, so in our next guideline, I will be dealing with this issue, and solving one that I know bothers some of you, and to which, I have already alluded to explaining.
