In the world of business, a domino effect is an instance where a change to one behavior can lead to a chain reaction and eventually knock down other related behaviors as well. This cascade can be an exciting and rewarding way to improve your company’s performance, but it can also lead to disastrous results if not handled properly.
Dominoes, or domino games, are a popular family of positional games played in western countries since the mid-18th century. The basic game involves stacking a set of dominoes on end in long lines.
A common rule is that each tile (also called a “end”) must be connected to either the same end or another tile in such a way that the sum of the numbers on either side is divisible by five or three. Often players use their entire hands to play the game.
Many children play with dominoes as toys that can be stacked on end and tipped over to create complex designs. These dominoes are also used to play a scoring version of the British game 5s-and-3s, which is played in pairs against each other.
The first domino in a line is the most important, because it provides the push to knock the next domino over. That push comes from the potential energy that is stored based on its position in the line.
When the domino falls, much of its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, or energy of motion, which can be transferred to the next domino. In addition, some of that kinetic energy is transmitted to the next domino in the line and so on.
This process of converting energy and transferring it from one form to another is known as the law of conservation of momentum, and is the basic principle behind how the game of domino works. It can be applied to other activities as well, such as playing the game of golf or driving a car.
Physicist Stephen Morris, who studies the physics of dominoes at the University of Toronto, says that when the first domino is tipped over, the energy it has stored is released and can be transferred to the next domino in the line. This energy can then be used to knock the next domino over as well.
A domino’s ability to store and transfer energy is key in a lot of the games it plays, and this is what makes the domino effect so interesting and exciting.
For example, when Jennifer Dukes Lee started making her bed each day, she began to build a new habit of doing it every morning. This habit not only made her more organized but also a more productive person overall.
She also started believing more positively about herself, which led to a positive change in her life and in the way she treated others. She was more dependable and she worked harder than she ever had before.
As you begin to apply this mental model to your own projects and processes, you will find that it can help you focus on the small, important tasks that will make a difference in your success. It will also help you avoid the “flash in the pan” syndrome that leads so many initiatives to fail prematurely.