Domino is a small rectangular wooden or plastic block, the face of which has been divided into halves, each half bearing an arrangement of dots resembling those on dice. It is used to play games in which dominoes are matched with other tiles and set up on a table in a pattern that causes them all to fall over at the same time. Dominoes have many variations, and some are adaptations of card games that were used to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards. The word “domino” itself is not particularly old, and it is unclear how it acquired its current meaning.
A good domino is a task that contributes to a bigger goal and can be broken down into smaller parts. For example, putting together a financial plan could be considered one good domino because it can be broken down into tasks such as outlining finances, creating a budget and executing that budget. These are all steps that, when completed, will lead to the creation of a sound financial plan.
The most popular game with dominoes is called dominoes, a simple matching-tile game in which players try to lay down their tiles so that the chains are complete. The rules vary, but the general rule is that a tile must be played on its own, or it may be paired with another domino of the same color (the latter being called a jack). When either partner can no longer continue playing, they “knock” or rap the table and pass play to the other player. The winner is the person whose total number of spots on their remaining tiles is the lowest.
Physicist Stephen Morris, who has studied the effects of dominoes and other structures, says that when a domino is standing upright, it has potential energy based on its position. When it falls, this energy is converted to kinetic energy—the energy of motion—and some of that pushes the next domino over. And so on, in a chain reaction that continues until the last domino topples.
In business, dominoes can refer to a series of events that cause a company to lose its competitive edge. Such an event might be a loss of market share, a change in leadership or a decline in revenue. It is important to identify the dominoes in your organization and take steps to prevent them from falling, or else you might find yourself tumbling into a quagmire of problems that you can’t recover from.
The current labor shortage is impacting Domino’s ability to meet demand for pizza delivery and carryout orders. This is expected to continue for the near term and should be addressed by offering more incentives to drivers. But over the long term, I think Domino’s will be able to continue its growth by expanding their delivery capabilities and leveraging technology. I believe the company has the potential to be a dominant player in the pizza delivery industry.
