Domino and Leadership
Domino is a popular game, but it is also a metaphor for the way that a good leader motivates a team. Leaders need to be able to set clear goals and then lead by example, motivating their teams to reach those goals. Leaders must also be able to listen to their employees and take action when necessary, such as implementing a more flexible dress code or improving leadership training programs. Ultimately, a good leader must be able to balance the competing demands of both the organization and its customers, and know when to prioritize one over the other.
When a domino is toppled, it sets off a chain reaction that can travel down a line of dominoes like a firing neuron. Each domino in a chain has inertia, and the force that causes it to fall is so strong that even a very small nudge will cause it to topple. The next domino is then pushed on and so forth. A line of hundreds, or even thousands of dominoes can be set up to form elaborate art, a grid that makes a picture, or 3D structures. Some people are even able to create domino art with their bodies, laying down curved lines or grids as they walk around, or creating giant artwork using only their hands and feet.
A domino is a rectangular tile, normally twice as long as it is wide. Each side of the domino has a value, usually represented by a row of spots or pips. A domino is considered to have a “heavy” or higher rank when it has more pips than a lighter tile with the same number of pips. The word domino itself has an interesting history. It is believed that it originally referred to a garment, either a hooded cloak or cape, worn together with a mask at carnival season or a masquerade. In the late 1700s, the word became linked to the game, and it was in this form that it is most commonly used today.
In a domino game, each player has a hand of tiles called the stock. The players draw a domino from the stock according to the rules of the game and then begin play. Generally, the rule states that the player who draws the highest double or the highest single makes the first play. Occasionally, rules may state that the winner of the last game begins play.
When a player plays a domino, it must be placed with the matching ends touching. The matching ends must be adjacent, or if the domino is a double, it must be played cross-ways across a touching double. This is called the “set,” “the down,” or sometimes “the lead.” Some games require the players to count the pips on the tiles left in their losing opponents’ hands and add that amount to their score. Other games do not count the pips.