Dominoes and the Domino Effect
A domino is a small rectangular block that is typically blank on one side and marked with an arrangement of dots or “pips” that resemble those on dice on the other. Twenty-eight such blocks form a complete set of dominoes. They are used in a variety of games.
When a domino effect is mentioned, it usually refers to the chain reaction that occurs when one event causes another to follow in rapid succession like a falling row of dominoes. This principle can be applied to many aspects of life and business, such as when a single act creates a positive or negative effect in the long run. One way to apply the principle is by breaking large tasks down into smaller, more manageable “dominoes.” For example, when working on a financial plan, it might be useful to break the process down into several good dominoes, such as outlining finances, creating a budget and executing that budget. Each of these dominoes can then be treated as a separate project with its own goals and deadlines.
Dominoes are often used in a number of positional games, where players place dominoes edge to edge against each other in order to construct lines and angular arrangements. They are also used in scoring games, where the player lays a tile on a previous domino of the same type so that it adds up to some specified total. In scoring games, each domino is normally assigned a specific value based on the arrangement of its pips or dots: for example, a double-six counts as six, while a double-blank counts as zero.
In his book “Dominoes: The Art of Leading a Team,” author Michael Schwab offers an example of how the Domino Effect can help in business, by describing how a domino can be used to solve a problem. When Schwab was the CEO of Bethlehem Steel, he had to address problems with the company’s transportation system, which was causing delays in deliveries of pizza. He realized that he could solve this by implementing a domino effect, which would see the most important task completed first and then allow the rest of the work to flow naturally.
To implement the domino effect, Schwab instructed his employees to rank the tasks they were responsible for each day. The top-ranked task would receive all of the employee’s attention until it was finished. He called these tasks the “main dominoes” that were needed to move the business forward. In this way, Schwab built the momentum that allowed his company to reclaim its leadership role in the steel industry. This strategy has since been adopted by many companies, such as Google and Apple, which have implemented the domino effect to improve their productivity. It is also an idea that many individuals can apply to their own lives, by identifying the most important tasks and giving them their full attention until they are completed. This will have a positive impact on their lives, as well as the people around them.