Pizza Tiger

Pizza Tiger 

by Thomas Monaghan
346 pages
NonFiction - Memoir

 

This book mixes business and faith. Written in the 1980's at the height of Domino's success, Domino's Catholic founder recalls his life - including a childhood of extreme poverty spent in an orphanage & various foster care homes (the first 80-ish pages were the most interesting part for me!) followed by the building of his pizza empire. To say he was driven in business is an understatement.

He is very open about his personality and regrets. Very humble about himself. And very grandiose in his business goals at the same time. Some of his business predictions sound like Trump - "best ever!". It was interesting as a business book and physiological study.

My one complaint is that I kept thinking - Oh, his poor wife! He was beyond driven at business and that had to take a heavy toll on his family's life. I also imagined the poor families of his employees who never got to see their loved ones as he pushed them more and more. There didn't seem to be any appreciation for work/life balance. It was all work for him. Also, some of the pizza business bits were boring to me. But only some. The author's infectious excitement carried the reader through lots of business minutia.

He definitely wrote the book with a focus on his business (vs. religion). There are no references to Franciscan University or Ave Maria University. But there are occasional references to his Catholic faith. At the end, he admits to attending daily mass! Also, the book has lots of Michigan references.

 
RECOMMENDED FOR: People interested in succeeding at business! People looking for an interesting memoir. People interested in an physiological study of a driven business man.