When a domino falls, it sets off a chain reaction that knocks over one after the other. It’s an analogy that I use to illustrate how the little actions you take can make a big difference in your life. I call these “domino actions”: small victories that create waves in your life, much like a single drop of water creates ripples in a glass of water.
Whether you’re making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or work habits, domino actions are the small steps that lead to the bigger successes in your life. You can think of them as the dominoes that tip over all the other behaviors you want to create. But they’re not always easy. They’re usually hard, require a lot of effort, and may feel overwhelming.
But with practice, it’s possible to make a few good dominoes that will help you achieve your goals. The key is to pick the right dominoes. These are the ones that will have the most impact on your life and are worth investing a lot of energy in.
In the early 1990s, Ivy Lee taught steel magnate Charles Schwab a lesson that would help him build his business. Each day Schwab would pick the most important task for the day and focus on it until it was done. This “main domino” helped him advance his other projects. Schwab’s company became the largest independent steel producer in the world in five years.
A domino is a small, rectangular block used as a gaming object and can be played with a variety of rules. The most basic western domino set contains 28 tiles, each with a different number of pips on its ends. These pips determine the suit of a particular domino (the suits are the same as in bridge). There are also “extended” sets with more pips on each end and additional dominoes with duplicate numbers for games that involve multiple players or long sequences.
The most common extended set is double-nine, which contains 55 tiles and allows for the possibility of two-way ties between adjacent tiles. Dominoes can also be arranged in “layout” games that require a specific pattern for victory.
There are many ways to play domino, but all of them involve gravity. The fact is, standing a domino upright gives it potential energy, or stored energy based on its position. Once a domino is knocked over, however, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, or the energy of motion.
Domino’s CEO, David Brandon, and later Doyle, understood the importance of addressing the main complaint customers had about the company. They implemented a number of new initiatives, such as a relaxed dress code and employee training programs. They also took the time to listen directly to employees and communicate with them regularly.
Domino’s has continued to implement innovative technology that has changed how it delivers pizza (including drones and delivery vehicles of its own design). But it remains committed to delivering on its core value of championing its customers.