Domino is a word you might have heard before, especially if you’ve ever seen one of those amazing domino constructions where, by tipping the first piece just so slightly, the entire arrangement falls in a cascade of rhythmic motion. This “domino effect” is also a metaphor for any sequence of actions that follow in logical order and build up to the story’s climax. If you want your story to fall into place like this, then it’s important that the scenes in your novel are well arranged and that the underlying logic of each scene is sound.
Most domino games are positional, in which players set up a row of dominoes edge to edge. Each domino has an identifying mark, usually a line or ridge of dots, on one side and is blank or identically patterned on the other. The identifying mark on each domino is called an end, and some dominoes have multiple ends. The number of ends a domino has is referred to as its pip count; the more pips on an end, the more points that domino can make.
Each player draws a certain number of tiles at the start, depending on the game. Then each player places a domino onto the table in such a way that its end is positioned over an existing end with an equal amount of pips as the existing end. The first player to do so wins the game. Each player must then continue to play adjacent pieces, following the pattern of pips on each domino end (or side) until each person has played all of their tiles.
While most people know that the name of the game comes from a Latin word meaning “falling together,” some are unaware that it is derived from an even older sense: a long hooded cloak worn with a mask during carnival season or at a masquerade ball. This earlier sense of the word explains why the domino playing piece has an ebony black face that contrasts with its white surplice.
For Domino’s, the path to success has been defined by innovative technology that helps customers place their orders quickly and efficiently. The company’s research and development efforts are led by teams at the Domino’s World Resource Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who are constantly testing new ways to let customers order pizza—from simply texting an emoji to ordering from a voice-activated device.
The Domino’s brand has grown from a single location in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to a global chain with more than 12,000 locations in the United States alone. In its early days, Domino’s founder and CEO Thomas Monaghan focused on putting the company’s stores in the right locations and making sure that the company delivered fast delivery times—both to local neighborhoods and to college students who were hungry after class or on a night out.
As the business grew, Monaghan promoted core values such as “Champion Our Customers,” and later, when Jim Doyle became CEO of Domino’s in 2005, he continued this line of communication with employees. He encouraged open dialogue with the corporate headquarters team and listened to employee feedback about issues such as dress code and college recruiting.