Domino’s Pizza
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Dominoes are rectangular blocks that can be stacked on end in long lines. When one domino is tipped over, it causes the next domino in line to tip over and so on. As the dominoes continue to fall, they can create elaborate patterns and build large structures. The game is also popular as a children’s toy. Dominoes are also the inspiration for an idiom, the “domino effect,” which describes a chain reaction that starts with a single small event and leads to larger consequences.
While adults often use dominoes to play games, many children just enjoy lining them up in long rows and knocking them over. They can even make very complex designs by stacking them up in different ways. Dominoes are also used in science class to help explain how nerve cells, or neurons, work together to form a circuit.
The word domino comes from the Latin dominium, meaning “flip.” A domino is a rectangular block with an arrangement of spots on one side, called pips. There are usually seven pips on each domino, although some sets have more or less. Dominoes are sometimes called bones, cards, tiles, spinners, or tickets. They are typically made of a clay-like material and are available in various colors, including black and white.
In 1962, Dominick Monaghan opened the first Domino’s Pizza in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The company started out small, with just a few locations, but it grew quickly. Its success was based on a simple strategy: Domino’s offered fast, affordable pizza delivery. It also emphasized placing its pizzerias near college campuses, where the company’s core customers lived.
This approach gave the company an edge over competitors, who tended to focus on delivering pizzas to residential addresses. Domino’s soon became the nation’s largest pizza delivery business, with more than 200 outlets by 1978.
When Domino’s faced a major crisis in the early 1990s, it was clear that something needed to change. The company’s previous CEO, David Brandon, implemented new changes that focused on employee training and listened to workers to find out what was going wrong. When Doyle took over, he continued these initiatives.
He also refocused on the Domino’s value of “Champion Our Customers,” which meant paying close attention to customer feedback. This led to changes such as a relaxed dress code and a system of pizza delivery to college dorms. These efforts, along with an emphasis on re-focusing Domino’s on its original mission, helped the company turn things around.
While the Domino’s example shows how a single domino can cause a series of events to unfold, the concept applies to any situation in which a small trigger can lead to an even larger chain reaction. For example, researchers have found that when people decrease their amount of sedentary leisure time, they tend to eat less fat as a result. These results support the theory that the domino effect exists in all areas of life.