Every leader must consistently and repeatedly ask this of his/her team, his family and of him/her self.
It requires Honesty, Humility and Hard work to ask, answer and execute this ritual – but it will be worth it – always!
THE QUESTION THAT CHANGED DOMINOS
It was 1961 Tom Monaghan bought a small pizzeria called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with his brother Jim for $1,400.
On one rainy night whilst working in his restaurant, he asked that very question to a drenched mother as she came to place her order. “You can drop this pizza off at my house, if you really want to help,” she angrily replied.
Rather than snipe back, Tom had the humility to reflect, honestly find a solution and put in the hard work to solve what was a universal problem.
Realising parents were juggling children, work and evening meals, Monaghan said yes—and personally drove the pie to her home. That impromptu trip highlighted two insights that reshaped his business:
• Home delivery solved the bottleneck inside the store.
• Convenience, not menu variety, was what busy families and students valued most.
Home delivered pizza started by asking that powerful question.
It was not easy in the early days with Jim trading his share for a Volkswagen Beetle used for deliveries.
But over time success followed.
Monaghan narrowed the menu to just pizza and soft drinks, hired drivers, and geared operations around speedy delivery rather than table service. Within months, the tiny shop was doing several hundred dollars a week in purely delivery sales, outpacing its dine-in revenue.
By the mid-80s Dominos was launching three new stores per day in the US.
What one thing should I start doing or stop doing? Ask this question on Monday morning, Your team, your direct reports, your board, even your family will give you invaluable insights that could change your business and your life.