Domino is a popular toy used to create intricate structures and games. When arranged correctly, a domino can be tipped over to cause the rest of the set to fall over, creating a chain reaction that continues until all the pieces are knocked over. This concept inspired the phrase “domino effect,” which refers to a series of events that starts with one small action and results in much bigger consequences.
The domino phenomenon is also a metaphor for business growth and leadership. In his book, Domino: The Story of the Greatest Pizza Company in the World, Tom Monaghan explains how Domino’s became so successful and offers tips to help others build their own empire.
Domino began as a small family-owned pizza restaurant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1960. When the Domino’s franchise went public in 1981, it had 100 stores and a market share of about 30 percent. But the company struggled to adapt to a changing market and suffered from high turnover among employees. CEO David Brandon made some major changes and brought in new leaders, including Domino’s current CEO, Steve Doyle. These moves helped the company refocus its strategy and become more innovative.
When Doyle took over the helm, Domino’s was still losing customers to competitors that offered more delivery options. The company’s leadership recognized the need to focus on customer service and make technological investments. Domino’s now has a large team of workers in software analytics, and it is at the forefront of developing new ways for customers to order pizza, like using mobile apps or texting emojis.
In addition to delivering pizzas, Domino’s now sells its own brand of baking ingredients and has an online bakery. It also offers food delivery through partners such as UberEATS. But the most innovative development has been Domino’s digital ordering system, which allows customers to place their orders by phone, email, or Amazon Echo. Customers can also use the app to track their order and get a notification when it’s ready for pickup.
Hevesh, a professional domino artist with more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, uses an engineering-design process to develop her mind-blowing domino creations. She tests each section of an installation individually before putting it all together. Hevesh’s largest displays can take several nail-biting minutes to complete, and they require thousands of dominoes.
Most domino games have a scoring element where players score points by counting the number of pips on the open ends of each domino they play. The player with the lowest total wins the game, or is blocked when no legal plays remain. A skillful domino gamer can play a fast and fun game that requires quick thinking and good hand-eye coordination.