If you have ever arranged a row of dominoes, or played any of the many games that can be played with them, you know how exciting it is to watch one domino knock over another. The physics behind this chain reaction is quite simple. Dominoes have inertia, a tendency to remain motionless when no force is pushing or pulling on them. Yet a tiny nudge is enough to tip them over. When they do, the energy that was stored inside is released as heat and sound.
The same phenomenon is at work when you read a novel or an article. You may be reading along, and then the plot hits a snag. You might not have seen this coming, but it’s the kind of thing that can keep a reader from finishing a book.
This is why it’s important to consider how every plot beat in your story works together—or doesn’t work, as the case might be. Every piece of your story has an impact on what happens next. If you think of each plot beat as a single domino, you might be able to see how the different parts of your story fit together in an organized way.
In the domino world, a tile is called a bone, card, or man and is usually twice as long as it is wide. Its ends have a number of spots, or pips, that indicate its value in a game. Some pips are doubles, while others are blank, or “wild.” The total value of the tiles on each end is known as the rank.
A standard domino set has 28 tiles, although larger sets are sometimes used. Each player must place a domino edge to edge against an opponent’s in such a manner that the adjacent pips match (or, if a blank is present, form some other specified total).
Once all players have placed their tiles, play begins. The first player to lay a matching domino wins the round. The winner is then the player with the lowest combined rank of all pips on his or her remaining dominoes—although some rules require that both players chip out before the score can be determined.
The same basic principles can be applied to your own business. For example, if one of your values is to listen to your customers, you should make it easy for them to contact you with any questions or concerns. This will help you build trust, which is a necessary component to growing your business.
When you apply the Domino Effect to your business, it is important to remember that a change in one behavior can trigger a shift in related behaviors. For instance, a study found that when people began to spend less time watching television, they also reduced their fat intake. The same principle applies to your own life—if you start to exercise more, you might begin to eat healthier meals. You can use the Domino Effect in your personal and professional lives to help you achieve the goals you set for yourself.