Domino Theory Blog

Is Your Kidney a Domino?

I received a message this morning from an old business associate Larry Yokell.  I'veknown Larry for 15+ years, and I've never received a personal message from him.  So, when I did I took notice.

I've included the message below.  As you can see he's helping the daughter of a good friend find a kidney.

One of the reasons I love talking/writing about Domino Theory is that it seems to inspire people.  And from inspiration amazing things can happen.

Larry started a Topple, and I was a domino.  I'm now tipping over my domino, and maybe it will knock over yours.  You never know - but I'm not going to worry about what happens next - I'm just going to have the courage to keep the topple going.

There's an email below if you want to contact the father.

Please comment on the blog if you do anything to keep this topple moving.  That's an important part of Domino Theory - seeing what happens next.  Thanks.

----------------------------------------------

Greetings All:

I have a very good friend who lives in Boulder named Steve Crider. 

His 18-year old daughter, Kelsey Crider, is a charming young lady and a recent graduate of Boulder High.  I have known Kelsey from birth and was one of the first people to hold her when she was a baby.

Last Fall Kelsey was preparing to go to college, when her doctor discovered that her kidneys were failing. Ultimately, her father underwent surgery to donate one of his kidneys to Kelsey.  Unfortunately, Kelsey's body rejected the new kidney and she had to have it removed.  Currently, she is being kept alive by a dialysis machine, but the bottom line is that she needs a new kidney.

So...I am helping my friend look for a kidney donor. The main requirement is to be a blood type 0, be in good health, be willing to donate, and have the time and inclination to see it through. All costs are covered by Kelsey's insurance.

If you or anyone you know can help Kelsey, please e-mail Steve at rockymtngatr@yahoo.com. Also, please forward this e-mail on to as many of your Colorado friends as possible.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Larry Yokell

Domino Video of the Week: grab a beer and watch

OK, this might be my favorite of all time right now.   If you receive Domino Theory via email, definitely go to the full article to see this video.  It's a fun one!

Guinness: Tipping Point
Uploaded by Razorbuzz

A Company That Gets It

My brother-in-law came across this story and it's another case of an inspirational topple.

Please watch the video to get the full story, but in summary:
State Bank and Trust in Fargo, N.D is apparently a company that truly understands what it means to create a great place for people to work.  They are very generous with benefits, and end of the year bonuses.  This year, each employee was given $1,000 with one catch.  You guessed it, to pay it forward.  Here's a link to the Bank's website which also discusses the program (complete with Oprah impersonator as seen in this photo).

This story really inspires me to keep blogging about how one thing leads to another, and how developing a deeper understanding of this allows you to become more strategic in your endeavors.  This was a "nice" thing for the bank to do, but even more than that it was a brilliant way to build employee loyalty.  Who wouldn't want to work for a company like this?  Sure, some people would rather pocket the money instead of knocking another domino over, but we all know it feels great to give gifts.  And, gifts that create an impact are even more enjoyable.

As they elude to at the end of the story, maybe the press they got from CBS will help to spread the idea to other companies.  It reminds me a lot of Elevation Church, where as I wrote about before, the members of the church received cash that they then paid forward (another story I learned about from a reader). 

Now think about this...  What if they could take even further and track the ongoing impact of the $1,000 gifts.  For example, in the video one person gives their $1000 to someone who's car was stolen.  What if that person then reported back to the giver something amazing that happened by having a car again (a new job, stopping to help someone in need, etc.).

That's the whole idea behind the serial numbered dominoes.  As they move, and stories emerge, people will be able to get on the Internet and show how the topple is moving.  I wish I could magically wave a wand and have the site be done, but it's getting there.  Once it's in place I truly believe that this blog and the concepts around it will take off.  In other words, the website is a huge important domino in topple #0000001 - the topple that brings Domino Theory to life and sets in motion more topples.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this inspiration story.  I have few requests:

- please keep an eye out for stories like this and send them to me.  They don't have to be pay it forward stories, just ones about ordinary people setting in motion big ideas.

- post a comment on the blog about how this story impacted you.

- if you are business owner/exec/etc., please consider doing something like this with your company this year.  It doesn't have to be a year-end thing.  If you do, I will provide the dominoes and the website to track all the stories.  I can see it now: Topple #0000005 - Cool Companies Build Loyalty with Bonus Program that Pays it Forward.  Fun stuff.

A Church Gives Away the $40,000 to Start Topples

[quick note: I thought I had posted this weeks ago.  I learned about this from one of my readers (thanks Josh...)  When I was preparing my post today about the bank in North Dakota I realized this was in my drafts.]

There's a church in Charlotte N.C. call Elevation.  One week instead of taking up an offering, they gave away the offering.  A total of $40,000 was contained in envelopes that everyone in the congregation received.   The amounts were $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and 5 special envelopes contained $1000.  Everyone agreed to use the money to "bless someone else."

The stories that came from this are amazing.  Here's are two of my favorites:

Grant Dixon

My name is Grant Dixon and I am 11 years old. Here’s my story. My 12 year old cousin Haley told me about what had happened at church the morning of the Bless Back Project. That same morning my Aunt Robin came over to tell us what had happened too. She asked us what we my brother Chase (9) and my sister Robin (5) would do if we had the money to give away. We talked about a number of things but decided to wait and see what was in Aunt Robin’s envelope. Inside was $10. We then talked about what we could do if we added to it. We first thought about doing an Operation Christmas Child box that we each do every year. Since we already do this we thought we would consider helping somewhere else. I had heard about the Feed the Children organization. We looked them up on Google and saw that if we had $24 we could feed three kids for a month. We all decided to add to the $10 to make up the difference.

David Benson

friday night i went to a high school football game just to support the head coach who wouldnt even know i was there. 3 of my children graduated from that school and my fourth is a junior there but does not play football or go to the games, too slow and boring for a soccer player. i sat with a man who is in my band of brothers. i did not plan to sit with him or anyone else for that matter, but i ended up beside him. his daughter dates one of the players who is in need of lots of love and resources. in other words he is poor. my friend’s daughter was at the game as well even though she is a freshman in college. my friend told me of this boy’s plight and i listened with interest but nothing sparked. sunday morning i showed up for elevation’s 10 service and was quite surprised by the presentation. on the way home my wife and i discussed what we were going to do and i thought of this young man. today i delivered an envelope to my friend for this young man and i multiplied what elevation gave me by 5 to be like the good servent in the parable. this young man will not know what my name is or who i am other than that i signed it as “a friend of the king”. i will let u know his response. i had fun doing it and helping someone in need without any glory for me.

You should take the time to read a few of the stories. Here's the link to the Bless Back Project.

I also came across this post covering the Bless Back Project on a blog called The Friendly Atheist.  I want to pat the author on the back for not shying away from this amazing project just because a church was involved.

There are so many stories there that I couldn't get through them all.  But, I  wonder if anyone that received the forwarded blessing shared their story, and what they might have done to keep the blessing growing?  If you take the time to read the stories and find an example of the domino topple continuing please post a comment on the blog.

As you pointed Josh, Domino Theory at work...  Thanks.

Big News for the Domino Award

A big domino just joined topple #0000003!

I am pleased to announce that Bill Coleman has generously agreed to be the keynote speaker at the Domino Awards banquet to be held April 8th.    Bill exemplifies the notion of a "Toppler," and I know the students will be inspired by his story. 

Bill has been at the helm of some of the most important technology companies of the last two decades.  Also, together with his wife Claudia, he founded the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities.

I've yet to meet Bill, but I've heard so much about him over the years.   I'm truly honored that he's agreed to help with this year's Domino Award. 

It's ironic that I'm making this announcement this week, while at the same time Oracle Corp. is buying Bill's last company, BEA Systems, for $8.5 billion.  Transactions of that size set in motion countless topples - and Bill was instrumental in making that possible.  Under his leadership as the original CEO and first chairman of the Board, BEA became the fastest software firm to exceed $1 billion in annual revenue.

Currently, Bill is the founder, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer of Cassatt Corporation, an organization that helps companies run green data centers with innovative software to improve resource, operational, and energy efficiencies.

Before Cassatt and BEA, he was vice president of system software at Sun Microsystems, where Coleman's team transformed SunOS into the commercially successful Solaris operating system. While at Sun he also founded Sun's Professional Services Division and co-founded Sun's Federal Division.

He began his career in the U.S. Air Force where he served as chief of satellite operations in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. He is also chairman of the board of directors for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and master's degrees in computer science and computer engineering from Stanford University. He also has an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado.

Again, I can't express enough how honored I am to have Bill speak at this year's award banquet.  It's all about "setting big things in motion" - something Bill knows a lot about!

What's this Whole Bono thing?

As I mentioned in my previous post, this week I'm responding to comments and questions I've received.

One of the more popular comments that I have received from people (in person) is about the Bono and Me topple.  Here's what I've heard:

"Herb, I think it's an interesting idea, but it seems a little self serving."

I understand how people could see it that way.  And, of course, meeting Bono will (selfishly) be cool.  But, as I've said all along,  there's more to this then just meeting him.  I want to show:

• It's  possible to use domino theory thinking to set something REALLY big in motion. 
• That with some planning, it is possible to build a topple where each domino in the chain is "bigger" than the previous.
• And, not all topples are random acts of kindness. 

So, in a way it is self serving.  It's an experiment that I'm conducting.  But, if it works, I think it will inspire others to try this kind of thing. 

And, even more importantly, I believe it will lead to another topple being set up with the sole purpose of eliminating poverty.

Back in 2002 when I first became inspired by the Domino Theory concepts, I was struggling with the question "how can I change the world."  The Bono and Me topple won't do it, but writing about it and hopefully starting other topples will.

Lastly, I want to be super clear that I take no offense to critical comments about this blog or what I'm up to.  I thrive off the feedback.  It helps me get more clear what it's all about.  Please keep the comments/suggestions coming, and don't hesitate to do it publicly via the comments.  Thanks.

1-800 Domino Theory

Comments?  Questions?

This week I'm going to focus my posts on responding to comments and questions I've received.  Some of these came in via the blog, others from email, and some in person.

Maybe you should have a phone number on the domino, not just a web address.
I totally agree.  It's not practical to have the purpose printed on the dominoes and people need/want a quick way to learn more when they get a domino.  Obviously the phone is more ubiquitous and instant in many cases (cell phones).  Here's how I envision the IVR system working:

"Hello.  Please enter the domino number to learn more."

"Excellent.  That domino is one of many in a topple.  The purpose of this topple is:"
Then, text to speech, of the purpose in the topple db.

"Press 1 to leave a message about your experience receiving the domino.  Press 2 to go to the main menu and learn more about Domino Theory."

1 - "Each domino has a story.  After the tone you can add to the story.  Just talk about your experience receiving the domino and then press # when your done."  After the message: "Thanks!  You can go to the Domino Theory website at ... to learn more, or press 1 to go to the main menu and listen to your options.

Main Menu
    Domino Theory website address
    Register a domino
    Leave a comment in the general mailbox
    Hear more about Domino Theory from Herb

Gee, just writing this I can think of a lot more I could do with this.  Thanks Tim!

A few years ago I was CTO at Gold Systems.  I learned a lot about voice automation, but nothing compared to the real experts over there.   The folks at Gold Systems are truly the best in world at building voice automation solutions.   Also, Trent Hein at Applied Trust Engineering has offered to host the application on their switch.

So, once I have the db in place, 1-800 coming next...

Coincidences

I'm wondering how coincidences and Domino Theory are related...

Lately, I've experienced a lot of "coincidences."  In fact, nearly daily something happens that feels like "a sign" of sorts.  If you would have asked me a couple of months ago about what I thought about: fate, energy fields, signs, miracles, etc., I would have said something to the effect that humans seem to need to find ways to make nothing into something.  Carl Sagan wrote a book called the Daemon Haunted World on the topic.

Then in November after visiting Miraval Resort I decided that I would be "open to new ways of thinking."  I wasn't going to fully buy into the mystical stuff, but I wasn't going to dismiss it outright.  I was going to pay attention...

Well, it's been a pretty wild experience.  Here's a funny one from yesterday:

I was getting in the car thinking I needed to work on the Bono and Me topple.  I turn on the radio and U2 is playing.  OK, sure, no biggie, is not that unusual for U2 to be on the radio.  I just smiled.  Then, last night I got in the car to head out for the evening.  I back out of the driveway, turn on the radio, and Bono begins to serenade me.  I smile.  The song ends, I change the channel and guess what: yep, third time in a day that U2 is sending me "signs."  At this point I actually begin to laugh out loud.  But wait, there's more...  So, now about about 1 mile from my destination I reach over to the radio, smile, and push the button to change the channel just to see if I can hear U2 three times on this trip alone.  Push: yep, my boy Bono is there waiting for me!  Ok, just too damn weird.

This kind of thing seems to be happening to me a lot lately.  Whatever the hell it means, it's making life a bit more interesting.

But, what does this have to do with Domino Theory?  One way to look at this is that when you ask for something, "the world conspires to help you."   I believe that's true to some extent.  [Yes, I've read The Secret, and I'm not a fan of the book.]   Remember, a key part of domino theory is getting clear about the purpose of the topple, then setting things in motion by asking others to help you accomplish the goal/purpose.  Asking for help is one of the a core concepts.  When you accept your limitations and get over the fear of asking for help, then things tend to fall into place.  There are whole books on this topic, but the point is that chain reactions (topples) are influenced by the law of attraction.  This week I asked for help with Topple #0000001 and within  24 hrs. got exactly what I needed.  Then, a day later I asked for some financial support for Topple #0000003 and I was told I wasn't asking enough!  I had originally planned to fund all aspect of the Domino Award myself.  Now, I've asked for help from a few people and might raise a few thousand dollars and be able to accomplish even more than I planned.

Good stuff, but...

How does Domino Theory address the concept of "signs?"  I mean, what the heck was going on with Bono and me yesterday?  Is it really possible that "the universe" was speaking?  Gee, that's out there for me, but as I said before, I'm trying to be open minded lately.  I think I need some help on this one. 

Of course, there's the "God" thing to think about.  That's another tough one for me.  I think I'll avoid that topic for now :-)

Some "coincidences" are the result of having a clear purpose, seeing the world through that lens, and noticing things that you might otherwise miss (like people trying to help you).  But, I don't get the how the "sign" from Bono fits in.  Maybe some karmic encouragement?  Or, simple that U2 is over played on the radio?

I'll ask Bono when I meet him.

Update: The Domino Award (topple #0000003)

Over the next several weeks I will be actively promoting the Domino Award, and encouraging computer science students at the University of Colorado to submit essays.  My good friend, Professor Clayton Lewis, will also be helping.  Maybe you would like to help also?  Just say the word...

Since my first post announcing the Domino Award, I've been to CU twice to talk to students and promote the Award.  There's seems to be a high degree of interest, but I have to admit I'm nervous that students won't take the time to participate.  It's OK if it ends up being a small group - you need to start somewhere - but I sincerely believe this is an amazing opportunity for these students and I hope they will take advantage of it.

I'm pulling together the agenda for the Awards banquette.  It currently looks like:

An introduction to Domino Theory and the Domino Award
Presentations of the Entries
Telluride Tech Fest Spotlight
A Big Domino Topple (hopefully)
Highlight of an emerging technology that might have a big impact
Key Note Speaker
Presentation of the Domino Award

I'm working on firming up the Key Note speaker.  I hope to announce that shortly.

I need the CS department to help get the word out and encourage sponsorship.  Clayton will be working on that, but as we all know there's a lot going on when students return from holiday break.  We need to get heard through the noise.

I had originally set the deadline for the essays as 2/1.  I then extended that to 2/15 to allow for more time between when students return from the holiday break and the due date for the essays.  I wonder if I should extend it to 3/1?  Seems to me students will either choose to participate or not, and allowing for more time won't make a big difference.  Clayton and I should talk more about this - and if you experience with this kind of thing please share your thoughts.

So, topple #0000003 is in motion, and picking up speed.  Everyone involved in helping make this a reality will be getting personalized dominoes and I hope they will come to the website and share their story.  Of course, the best part will be passing on a domino to the students that participate, and watching how their lives are effected by this over time.

Domino Video of the Week or Month or Something

Here's a fun one.  I want colored dominoes like this. 

One of the best parts of Domino Theory is that people just "get it."  Everyone loves seeing these domino topples.

Enjoy.