The Domino Effect

Domino, the word and the object, are both based on the same root word in Latin for “fall.” The idea of a domino effect is often used to describe the way that one event can trigger many other events to occur. This idea is especially popular in the world of politics, where a single event can have far-reaching consequences for a whole region or even the entire world.

Domino’s, the pizza chain that was a pioneer in using technological innovations to boost business, now leads the field in developing technology for ordering and tracking delivery status. In the past few years, it has launched its own mobile app, developed self-driving delivery trucks and drones, and introduced robot drivers. In addition, it has experimented with delivering pizza via text message, allowing customers to order and track their orders from any device.

When Domino’s CEO James Doyle took over in 2010, he emphasized that the company needed to focus on its core strengths and improve its reputation. He pushed for the company to open its restaurants in more convenient locations, such as near college campuses, where young people like to eat. And he began promoting Domino’s as a fast-food alternative to traditional chains like McDonald’s and Subway.

Doyle’s strategy has had a significant impact on the business. In 2013, the company reported its best annual revenue ever, with $2.45 billion, up a third from 2012. The following year, the company announced its first-ever profit margin of 2%. Domino’s has also increased the number of franchisees. It now has more than 200 locations in the United States, up from just a few in 1967 when Domino’s founder Frank Carney opened his first store in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The traditional domino set contains 28 pieces, one for each possible combination of ends with zero to six spots (known as a double-six set). Larger sets are available that contain more than seven different types of endings. But they are not used in most games, which are played with smaller sets that are easier to identify and manipulate.

You can create artistic designs with dominoes by arranging them into straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls, and 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. Then, you can make your design move by adding a train track or some arrows to show the direction in which the dominoes will fall. When you’re designing, it helps to think of good dominoes as tasks that contribute to a bigger goal and that will have a positive ripple effect. Examples of good dominoes include writing a financial plan and executing that plan, or getting a new job that will help you build your career. These tasks are challenging and take a chunk of time, but when they’re done well, the results can be huge. To avoid a failure, it’s important to break down complex projects into small, manageable parts. Then you can systematically tackle each step to make sure the whole thing comes together as planned.