The Domino Effect

Dominoes, cousins of playing cards and chess pieces, have been around since the 1300s. They are a popular form of entertainment, both in home and professional games rooms. From domino competitions to simply setting them up and watching them fall, the game challenges both skill and patience.

In addition to requiring a lot of brain power, the game also requires an eye for detail and a good sense of geometry. The domino consists of rectangular tiles with a number of dots or symbols on one side. The other sides are blank or identically patterned and marked only with an arrangement of spots, or “pips,” that correspond to the results of throwing a single die. Each tile has a specific value, depending on the configuration of its pips.

The most common domino set is called a double-six set, which contains 28 tiles. The remainder of the tiles are shuffled and form the boneyard, from which each player draws seven tiles for play. The first player begins the line of play by placing a domino on the table, and then players alternately extend it by playing a matching tile at one of its ends. Each player must also add a matching tile to his or her hand in order to continue the line of play, and the game ends when either one player wins by playing all of his or her dominoes or when neither player can play any more tiles.

A domino’s inertia keeps it from falling until some outside force, like a finger nudge or a small bump, causes it to tip past its threshold. At that point, the potential energy stored in the domino becomes available for other purposes, namely to push the next piece down its path. Hundreds of such forces are at work in a single domino line, which may take weeks to build.

Domino’s CEO, Don Meij, understands this concept of inertia when it comes to his business. He has been known to show up at a Domino’s restaurant, don a uniform, and take orders from customers himself to see how well his employees are doing their jobs. He has also been known to visit the company’s delivery service and speak to drivers about their concerns.

The Domino’s story is a testament to the fact that even businesses with a long history can evolve and change. A change in leadership can be the catalyst for a major shift, and that was certainly true of Domino’s Pizza. Before David Brandon became Domino’s CEO in 2004, the company had a reputation for being slow to deliver pizza and lacking in innovation. The chain was struggling to meet its 30-minute delivery promise and had high turnover among its employees. Brandon knew that something had to change and quickly.