Reconciliation Authenticity
Customers, regulators, and investors possess the same skepticism radar.
Authentic reconciliation requires accepting costs and constraints that persist beyond the immediate crisis. Half-measures signal 'we're doing this because we have to' not 'we're genuinely committed to change.'
Primates can detect insincere reconciliation attempts. If an aggressor approaches a victim but maintains tense body language, the victim refuses reconciliation. If grooming is brief and perfunctory rather than extended and thorough, the victim doesn't fully trust the reconciliation.
Authentic reconciliation signals: extended time investment (long grooming sessions), relaxed body language (genuine calm), consistent behavior after reconciliation (no renewed aggression). Inauthentic signals: minimal time investment, tense body language, inconsistent post-reconciliation behavior.
Victims are skeptical of reconciliation because accepting it creates vulnerability (approaching an aggressor who recently attacked). Only authentic signals overcome this skepticism.
Business Application of Reconciliation Authenticity
Customers, regulators, and investors possess the same skepticism radar. Half-measures don't just fail - they often make matters worse by confirming stakeholders' worst suspicions. Authentic reconciliation requires: accepting responsibility at highest levels, making costly irreversible commitments, demonstrating time consistency (years, not weeks), aligning incentives with stated values, and accepting transparency about ongoing problems. Siemens spent $2.5B+ and maintained compliance infrastructure for 15+ years - authentic. Wells Fargo fired 5,300 employees while protecting leadership - inauthentic.