When most people think of domino, they probably imagine a line of hundreds or thousands of dominoes set up in careful sequence, all toppled with the slightest push. Such setups are often the work of professional domino artists like Hevesh, a 20-year-old who has amassed more than 2 million YouTube subscribers by creating mind-blowing domino effects and reactions in front of live audiences. Hevesh is able to create her incredible setups by using the same engineering-design process that engineers use to plan and build bridges, buildings, and other structures.
Dominoes are rectangular blocks of varying shapes, sizes, and colors, typically topped with numbers or dots. The most common commercially available domino sets contain 28 tiles called “dominoes” (also known as bones, cards, men, or pieces). Each domino has two square ends with different values, which are indicated by a number of dots or rings that run around the edge of each piece. Most dominoes have both a black and white side, although some are all one color or feature a blank face (the so-called zero suit).
The most popular types of domino play fall into two categories: blocking games and scoring games. Blocking games allow players to empty their hands while keeping other players’ tiles from being played, while scoring games determine points based on the number of pips on a given tile. Most domino games require more than two players, but a single player can play many of them solo.
During the late 1950s, Domino’s founder David Brandon began testing his ideas for what would become the company’s business model. He placed small Domino’s locations near college campuses to attract the audience that most preferred quick, cheap pizza. The idea was a big hit, and the franchise began to grow rapidly.
By the early 1980s, Domino’s had more than 200 stores and was growing fast. But the company had a problem: its pizza was sloppily made and lacked flavor. In a dramatic turnaround, Domino’s new CEO, Don Doyle, changed the way Domino’s prepared and served its pizza and introduced higher-quality ingredients.
In addition to improving its pizza, Domino’s reorganized the company to focus on its core competencies and to emphasize customer service. This new strategy spelled success for Domino’s, which is still in operation today.
Domino’s is not the only company that’s benefitted from a change in its business model. Many other companies have adopted a strategy similar to Domino’s, including Apple, which has focused on its customer-centered value system and has made significant changes in how it does business.
The domino effect is a powerful tool for changing behavior, explains psychologist Robert Cialdini in his book Influence: Science and Practice. It works like this: when someone makes a commitment, even if it’s only to make their bed each day, they’re more likely to keep that promise because they see it as part of their identity-based self-image. The same is true of many other behaviors, such as smoking cessation or exercising regularly.