Domino is a name that conjures up images of a chain reaction: the first domino to fall sets off a cascade of events that culminate in a dramatic finale. But this is only one way to look at the phenomenon of dominoes. As it turns out, they also have a lot to teach us about business and leadership.
Lily Hevesh’s grandparents gave her a classic 28-piece set of dominoes when she was 9 years old. From then on, she loved lining up the pieces in straight or curved lines and flicking them over. Over the years, her collection grew and she started posting videos of her creations on YouTube. Today, Hevesh is a professional domino artist. Her stunning setups have garnered millions of views and she has worked on projects for movies, TV shows and events—including a Katy Perry album launch. Hevesh is a master of precision and engineering—and she credits one physical phenomenon with making her mind-blowing designs possible: gravity.
A domino is a small, flat, thumb-sized rectangular block that’s marked on one side with an arrangement of spots or “pips,” like those on a die. The other side is blank or a different pattern. The number of pips indicates the rank or weight of a domino, which may be used to score points in games played with them. The rank of a domino increases as the number of pips increases. The most common set has six pips, but there are extended sets with as many as 12 pips.
Hevesh has learned a lot about leadership through her work with dominoes. For starters, she says, it’s important to know your limits and understand the physics of the system you’re working with. She’s also a big believer in the importance of listening to customers and employees.
This is especially true when you’re trying to solve a problem, she says. “If you can’t come up with a solution that works, then the best thing is to ask for help.”
When Domino hired Doyle as CEO in 2010, it was in trouble. The company was struggling to grow and its stock price languished at a lame $8.76 a share. He was tasked with turning around the company’s fortunes, and he did so by staying close to the core values of Domino’s—one of which is championing our customers.
By communicating openly and directly with employees, listening to what they had to say and implementing changes quickly, Domino transformed from being the butt of late-night jokes into one of the world’s largest pizza delivery chains. And it continues to evolve, experimenting with new ways to deliver pizza and creating a business model that goes far beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar store. This is a testament to the power of Domino’s leadership principles, which, when applied appropriately, can have a profound impact on any organization.