Domino is a game of skill and luck that can be played by two or more people. A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block, the face of which is divided into halves, each half being blank or marked by dots resembling those on dice. Dominoes are arranged in sets and used to play several different types of games, including blocking games, scoring games, and long-line domino games.
Traditionally, dominoes have been made of bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl or MOP), ivory, and a dark hardwood such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips. However, since the early 19th century, dominoes have also been manufactured from a variety of other materials, including marble, soapstone, granite, and wood, in both traditional and modern styles.
In a block or set of dominoes, each player draws his or her tiles from the deck until they are all empty. The first player then places a domino on the table, either by drawing lots or by selecting the tile with the highest value. The other players then lay their tiles in a line on the table, with each domino touching another’s tile at one or more ends (i.e., one’s touch two’s, and two’s touch three’s). A domino can be matched to a tile with its opposite number by a side with a line or ridge separating the two sides, or a side that is entirely blank.
The energy of a falling domino is like that of a nerve impulse in the human body, in that it moves at a steady pace without losing energy, and can travel only in one direction. The same principle applies to a domino chain: as the first domino falls, it releases energy into the next domino and pushes it over, and so on, until the last domino tumbles.
Domino’s turnaround was due to a combination of factors, including improved supply chain management, better customer service, and a cleverly offbeat marketing strategy. But the company’s most important move was to change its culture. Its previous CEO, David Brandon, had focused on employee training and improving the culture but failed to address the root cause of the problems.
Doyle brought in a leadership team with a fresh perspective and began by asking employees what they wanted the company to be known for, and what their biggest frustrations were. This enabled them to identify the root causes of their problems and begin making changes immediately. For example, they created a “main domino” strategy that required employees to prioritize the most important task of the day and focus on it until completion. This ensured that the most important work was getting done and would drive the rest of the company’s success. As a result, the business flourished.
