"Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late."

Ah, the Zen of Recruiting or better known as recruiting without recruiting. Or if you prefer, conceal your intentions...

Which is "worse" - concealing your intentions or lying to prevent others from stealing your inventions? As it relates to recruiting, look at it this way: Is it more dishonest to not let a gatekeeper on to your intentions or to weave an elaborate web in which to to catch their boss? Put it this way, how did Iago deceive Othello? How could Othello distrust him given Iago's concerns about Desdemona's indifelity? In other words, "the best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their roguish qualities" and "...they utilize a bland and inconspicuous front that calls no attention to themselves."

These smoke screens can be facial expression, a noble gesture, a pattern of behaviors that lulls one into submission, or being part of a seamless front.

One of the problems with deception is that as your reputation is built upon deception it becomes difficult for people to know the truth from the ruse. The real issue here is that most people believe that they're being deceived - the news colors the truth, business PR people color the truth, holistic education colors the truth, etc.; skepticism is the way of the world these days!

For the Recruiting Leader, practice this law by over-measuring your performance; so much data will confuse your head of HR boss (I'm only slightly kidding) until you have a better picture of what is actually taking place under your watch (just stay away from cost-per-hire measures). Be sure to embed your recruiters deeply into the business units and functions, so much so as to require your recruiters to take courses in their areas of responsibility and confuse their actual role through education and input.

For the recruiter, you must attend monthly association meetings and by all means, dress the part. Dress like a recruiter and be treated like a recruiter. Subscribe to the journals that are critical to success in the field; same with ezines. Read Forum discussions to learn nuance and attitude. Read all requisite Dummies books. This way zen recruiting becomes a reality (one of my strengths is technology; as I as there's no such thing as a former Marine, a former Jesuit or a former Engineer).

Recruiting may be part innate but like it or not, it's also part deception; as Kierkegaard wrote,"But the world wants to be deceived..."