Chemical Signaling
Actions are more credible than words - a $100M product recall is a costly signal that customers trust more than any press release.
Chemical signals (costly actions) override verbal signals (press releases). Your response becomes the permanent signal, not the original event.
Chemical signaling is the oldest and most universal form of communication. Bacteria use it. Fungi use it. Plants use it. Animals use it. Even when organisms developed eyes, ears, and complex brains, chemical signaling remained essential. It works in darkness, through obstacles, across distances, and persists over time in ways visual and acoustic signals cannot.
A female silk moth releases less than one microgram of bombykol into the air. Seven miles downwind, a male silk moth detects a single molecule with his 17,000 chemoreceptors. One molecule triggers behavior across seven miles - no visual contact, no sound, just chemistry.
Business Application of Chemical Signaling
Organizations use chemical signaling structurally through culture (invisible values, norms, unwritten rules that permeate the organization) and brand (signals like advertising, packaging, reputation that customers detect and respond to). Actions are more credible than words - a $100M product recall is a costly signal that customers trust more than any press release.