The Domino Effect
Dominoes are small, flat, rectangular blocks used for various games. The pieces usually have an arrangement of spots, or pips, on one side and are blank or identically patterned on the other, but some of the pips are “blanks” (indicated in a listing by a zero). Most domino sets contain either eight or 12 double-nine tiles, although larger sets do exist. The earliest dominoes were probably made in China during the 1300s and are one of the oldest tools for game play. The markings on a domino, known as pips, originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice. In the West, dominoes became standardized in the mid-18th century. Most of today’s dominoes are molded in polymer and are often colored, but earlier sets were made of wood, bone, ivory, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother-of-pearl), or other natural materials.
Some of the most popular domino games include positioning games, in which players place one piece edge to edge against another so that their adjacent pips match (i.e., a five’s end touches a seven’s end). Other popular games involve scoring by counting the pips in opponents’ hands. Many of these games help children learn number recognition and addition.
The power of a single domino is mesmerizing. A single nudge can cause thousands of pieces to fall over, a phenomenon called the domino effect.
While this sort of chain reaction is usually associated with the physical realm, the phenomenon also exists in the mental and emotional arenas. For example, the nudge of an unexpected event can trigger an emotional response that may impact other aspects of life. In the business world, dominoes are a metaphor for leadership and management. While leadership is about standing out and being an inspiration, management is about building a system that encourages people to achieve the vision of the company.
The word domino is an Italian and French word, derived from a Latin root that means ‘to command or control.’ The word has come to be associated with an entire range of activities, from games and architecture to banking and insurance.
When you think of the term, you probably envision a line of dominoes that stand in place, waiting for someone to push them over, much like an army of toy soldiers waiting to march into battle. However, the concept can be applied to any number of situations, from the power of a single domino in a game to the potential of a domino effect in international affairs. In fact, domino theory was a prominent policy in the foreign policy of the United States during the Cold War, when Richard Nixon and George McGeorge Bundy advocated for the containment strategy that sought to encircle Communist Chile and Cuba to prevent them from destabilizing Latin America. The United States fashioned a series of tight bilateral alliances with these countries to control their ability to use force in the region and promote material and political dependence.