Dominoes are the small black and white pieces that form a game that many children enjoy. When dominoes are lined up together in long rows and then knocked down, it’s a great way to have fun while learning about the power of momentum.
The word domino comes from the Latin for “flip over.” The individual dominoes are known as dots or pips, and their color and shape vary. The dominoes that make up a standard set have 28 pieces. There are seven doubles—two square sides with the same number, ranging from a double blank to a double six—and 21 singles, which have either a number or a blank.
A set of dominoes can be made from many different materials, including bone or ivory; a dark hardwood such as ebony; metals; ceramic clay; and plastic. The earliest domino sets were created in the mid-18th century, and they were often designed to be beautiful and elegant. Some are even made of wood or marble with inlaid domino pips.
In the game of domino, each player takes turns placing a domino on top of another, adding to the growing chain until all the dominoes are in place. The first player to reach the end of the line wins the game. Each player must play a domino in turn, and no one may hold back a domino for strategic purposes.
Similarly, in a story, each scene serves as a domino to advance the hero closer or farther away from the goal of the story. The scene must be short enough to have impact, but long enough to provide the necessary momentum. It also needs to be paced well so that the reader is not bored or confused by unnecessary details.
The example of Domino’s Pizza illustrates how a domino effect can have positive results in business. When Domino’s founder, Dan Doyle, saw a slowdown in sales at his company, he stuck close to the business’s core values and acted quickly. By doing so, he turned around the company’s fortunes in a matter of months.
Domino’s success also relied heavily on the business’s core value of putting the customer first. Throughout its growth, Domino’s listened to what customers had to say and put into place changes like a relaxed dress code and new leadership training programs. This focus on the customer was a key reason why Domino’s won the Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces award in 2013.
The lesson here is that a domino effect can have positive as well as negative consequences, but the best way to avoid the latter is to keep to the business’s core values and act decisively. When it does, a business can achieve great things.
