The quickest path to corporate success might not be to watch your back, but to watch your cat, according to a University of Queensland academic.
"The cat is the ultimate guiltless manipulator of her environment," Associate Professor Judith Blackshaw said.
"She makes the human her devoted slave. By understanding a cat's behaviour, you can use the same successful tactics in your own life."
Dr Blackshaw, a reader in animal behaviour and welfare in UQ's School of Veterinary Science, is the author of Cat Tactics, a booklet published in the 100,000 circulation February edition of the Burke's Backyard magazine.
The booklet contains more than 30 strategies to be the top cat at work, home and play, from stroking the ego of your colleagues, to pulling your own strings, to landing on your feet. They include:
o Make the people you interact with feel good.
o Make sure you plan your ambush very carefully and catch the most desirable prey.
o A compelling spectacle can create the aura of power; if you create a strong presence no one will notice what you are really doing.
"The booklet came about because I used to watch my late pet cat Mishka, and was amazed at how good she was at getting what she wanted," she said.
"It occurred to me that people could learn from cats to develop common sense strategies for success," she said. "My husband reckons I've been unconsciously using these tactics for years.
"I incorporate these strategies in public talks, and in lectures to my students, who tend to behave because they know like a good cat, I have my eye on them at all times.
"Many people in management could benefit from these strategies and from appreciating that a bit of stroking can go a long way in the corporate sector. Many industries do not value people but place technology first. However, technology is no longer the greatest corporate advantage because most people now have access to it.
"Treating employees with respect will give you the secret edge on your corporate competitors."
Dr Blackshaw, whose PhD was in the field of animal behaviour (pigs), and whose Doctor of Agricultural Science was for her contributions to animal production, has published widely in cat, dog and pig behaviour. She started UQ's animal behaviour clinic, authored the animal behaviour curriculum for the Australian College of Veterinary Science, and was the first examiner of that college in the animal behaviour chapter. She said many veterinary practitioners had now undertaken those exams, and were putting the knowledge into general practice.
"One interesting recent development in veterinary practice is that practitioners are now recognising that animals may suffer human conditions such as depression and anxiety," she said.
"Veterinarians are using many human psychotropic drugs, such as tricyclic antidepressants and serotonin reuptake inhibitors, in combination with behavioural modification, to treat these problems in cats and dogs," she said.
She is working with psychiatrist Emeritus Professor Ivor Jones of the University of Tasmania to use animal models of abnormal behaviour to explain how these behaviours might have evolved in humans.
Dr Blackshaw has written an unpublished companion piece to Cat Tactics, entitled The Secret Power of Cats, which explains how cats enslave their owners.
Her own favourite Cat Tactic is strategy 7: Never let anyone know what you are thinking: in this way no one knows what you are up to and you can pursue your own directions.
Media: For further information, contact Associate Professor Judith Blackshaw, telephone 07 3365 3311, or Jan King at UQ Communications, telephone 0413 601 248 or email: communications@mailbox.uq.edu.au.
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