Domino’s has been on the leading edge of innovation when it comes to new ways for people to order pizza. From texting an emoji to ordering by Amazon Echo, there are now many more options than ever to get your Domino fix. But a big part of the company’s success comes from its employees. Today’s Wonder of the Day looks at how Domino uses its employees’ software skills to help make all of those new ordering options possible.
Lily Hevesh started collecting dominoes at age 9. She would set them up in a straight or curved line and flick the first one, then watch the whole row tumble down. Hevesh is now a professional domino artist who creates spectacular displays for movies, TV shows, and events, including an album launch for Katy Perry. She’s even helped set a Guinness World Record for the most dominoes in a circular arrangement. Hevesh’s creations are stunning, and it’s not just the size of the setups that impresses; Hevesh also knows how to build them in a way that makes them look natural.
The foundation of most domino games is laying down a domino so that the numbers (or blanks) on adjacent dominoes match each other. Singles dominoes have different numbers on each half of their faces. Dominoes with the same number of pips on both halves are called doubles. When playing in teams, each player’s points are based on the number of matching dominoes that remain in their opponents’ hands. If the count is a multiple of five, the winner receives that many points.
A domino game may be a stand-alone game or a game played with the aid of other pieces, such as dice, abacuses, or pegboards. A traditional domino set has 28 unique pieces: one for each combination of two ends bearing the pips from zero to six, plus four spares. A pair of matching dominoes is called a double-six, and a row of seven such pieces is known as a six-spot column.
In addition to blocking and scoring, domino can be used for positional games in which each player places a piece edge-to-edge with another so that the adjacent faces are identical or form some specified total. Often, each player must play all of the pieces in his or her hand before starting a new round of plays.
A key part of Domino’s strategy is listening to its employees and implementing changes that are a good fit for the company. When the Detroit Free Press asked employees about their company’s core values, Domino’s responded by mentioning that it was founded on a value of “Champion Our Customers.” That’s why the company listens so closely to its customers and has made such a strong commitment to expanding delivery and takeout options. The company’s extensive store network, supply chain efficiencies, and best-in-class ROIC are all important advantages that will help it compete with the likes of Uber Eats and DoorDash in the short term.