Domino, the game of building chains of tiles that fall over one another, is a great way to practice sequencing and timing. It also provides a valuable insight into the principles of chaos theory, demonstrating how the slightest push on one end can result in a chain reaction that topples all the other ends. Dominoes are also used to create intricate designs that can be a creative outlet for the imagination and can include straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls and even 3-D structures like pyramids and towers.
A domino consists of rectangular pieces of wood or plastic, with identically patterned faces on both sides and an identifying mark (typically a line or a ridge) on one side. The other face may be blank or a variety of coloured dots that are arranged in suits, as in a deck of playing cards. Each domino is a member of one or more of these suits, although some have the same number on both sides.
Normally, play stops only when all the players have laid all their dominoes, although sometimes it continues until it reaches a point at which no player can advance further. The winners are the partners whose combined sum of all the spots on their remaining dominoes is the lowest.
The game originated in Italy and France in the mid-18th century. Initially, it was used in prisons and was later popularized in public houses and social clubs in England.
In positional games, each player in turn places a domino edge to edge against an adjacent tile or a series of adjacent tiles so that the exposed ends of the two touching dominoes match (one’s touch two’s, five’s touch three’s etc.). Then points are scored for each set of three or more dominoes that can be made to form a specified total.
Dominoes are usually played on a smooth, flat surface with the goal of creating a long, continuous string of dominoes that ultimately falls over. The first domino is placed onto the floor, usually a table, and the adjacent tiles are then positioned on or around it, with the ends of each domino resting on those of the previous dominoes. When a domino is placed and the ends of the adjacent ones match, it is called a “touch.”
Like in the game, leadership and management are different, but can have similar effects on an organization. Domino’s CEO, Don Meij, is a good example of this. He regularly visits Domino’s restaurants and delivery services to see how his employees work, what kind of training they receive, and to get a feel for the company’s culture.
He also encourages his managers to be leaders in the true sense of the word, not just to boss people around and dictate policies from the top down. The results of his efforts are evident in the high level of customer satisfaction and employee engagement that Domino’s enjoys.