imapMyTeam Blog

Delta Knows: Relationships Matter

When things fall apart, damage is done and the answers are not easy, sometimes all you have for survival is the strength of your relationships. Relationships matter.

Last week was not a good week for Delta Air Lines Inc. Despite a $150 million investment in system upgrades this year alone, a new chief information officer and a leadership team for information technology and infrastructure, Delta’s main computer system failed in the pre-dawn hours Monday morning. Result: 2100 flights cancelled over a three day period; travelers stretched well beyond “thank you for your patience.”

When individuals and teams perform according to expectations, it’s natural for others to have confidence in and be willing to extend trust to them. When there is a failure to perform, commitments are unmet or people do not do what they say they are going to do, trust can suffer. So it’s critical to recognize the way we perform on a daily basis can either build trust or blow it up.

All companies in every industry work hard to build loyalty and trust with their customers. Yet sometimes things go wrong; sometimes BIG things go wrong, and the loyalty and trust of customers is tested. If you were one of the Delta passengers impacted by this meltdown of services, perhaps your loyalty was compromised.

When failure strikes, it creates moments of truth for individuals and organizations. Each personal interaction between affected parties becomes critical in restoring the relationship and rebuilding trust.
Many imapMyTeam users do have customers or strategic partners as part of their larger imapMyTeam network. The relationships forged via this collaboration tool have helped them through some rough patches in the past and will do so again in the future.

Create your own relationship capital because you never know when your own ‘Delta Day’ may occur. If – or when - it does, you’ll be rewarded for having invested in relationships all along rather than playing catch-up afterwards.


Even if it is not practical for your organization to link to key partners with imapMyTeam as others have done, using the resources available to you will help you better understand how to invest in building loyalty with those you interact with on a regular basis. Build Relationships to survive the inevitable “Delta” moments