Table of Contents

Game-Changer: Definition and Examples in Business

By

Will Kenton

Updated May 02, 2023

Reviewed by

Samantha Silberstein

Fact checked by

Vikki Velasquez

What Is a Game-Changer?

Throughout time, certain ideas have changed how people live, how societies function, and even the course of history. These ideas have been brought to life by individuals who considered things as they were, envisioned what could be, and committed to creating the changes that they believed in.

Those people are sometimes referred to as game-changers. Think Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press, Thomas Edison and the electric light, Andrew Fleming and the antibiotic penicillin, or Alan Turing and the first modern computer.

Game-changers are those people who bring the force of their vision, will, and personality to bear on the sometimes unique, sometimes mundane ideas that can alter the ways in which we live.

Game-changer can also refer to a company that significantly switches things up and develops new business plans and strategies that place it above its competition.

Game-changers can drive changes that transform the landscape in which we live, on either small or large scales.

Key Takeaways

A game-changer is an individual or company that significantly alters the way things are done.
Game-changing individuals often use their personality traits and attitude to spark change.
Companies that are game-changers look for new and innovative products and services, ways to operate, efficiencies, production methods, and marketing strategies.
Game-changers overcome naysayers, adversity, and uncertainty.
Becoming a game-changer requires time, determination, and commitment.

Understanding Game-Changers

Game-changers compare what's possible to what's currently being done. They spur a shift in the status quo. The changes they pursue may be radical and difficult for others to understand. However, they often drive a change in the way other people think and operate.

A game-changer, therefore, is someone or something that can spark new concepts, inspire the desire for—and acceptance of—change, and create the change itself.

A game-changing individual often uses their personality traits and attitude to affect what people perceive and how they do things. Certain influencers might be called game-changers if they shift the dynamic of thought and behavior of their followers. For instance, a social media influencer with a particular fashion sense who revolutionizes how people dress might be considered a game-changer.

Game-changing companies (usually led by game-changing individuals) can develop different kinds of business objectives, technologies, efficiencies, production methods, and marketing strategies.

These corporate innovations can open up new avenues of opportunity and potential for financial growth. They can disrupt and transform entire industries—or more—in the process.

Becoming a game-changer requires a long term commitment. One needs a certain ingenuity of thought and action, time, and determination. Game-changers have to have the ability to manage uncertainties and overcome obstacles.

Both entrepreneurs and those within companies who seek to make an impact can study and learn from the leadership, strategies, tactics, and achievements of visionary leaders.

Not all game-changers effect positive change. For instance, the 20th century bore witness to charismatic leaders with unquenchable desires to alter the status quo who unleashed destruction and misery for not just their own countries, but the world at large.

Examples of Game-Changers

Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos is widely recognized as a game-changer. That's not surprising when you consider what he's achieved since he founded the company in 1994.

Amazon started as a small ecommerce website that sold books during the internet boom of the late 1990s. It quickly disrupted the retail industry as a whole. Bezos stepped down from the role of CEO on July 5, 2021 but remains executive chair of the company. He continues to invest in new game-changing technologies, such as spaceflight.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is another entrepreneurial individual who is considered a game-changer. Musk became the CEO of electric automotive manufacturer and clean energy company Tesla in 2008. He had high ambitions of being a game-changer in the auto industry.

Tesla is now a leading name in electric cars, raising its stature and driving its popularity by using high-powered, lithium-ion batteries rather than gasoline to power vehicles.

Musk's vision for Tesla's method of production may have been criticized. However, the company's emergence and dominance in the electric car market caused others to scramble to try to match its impressive and undeniable achievement.

What's a Game-Changer?

A game-changer is a person who, by the force of their personality, desire to do things differently, and their belief in the change they envision, alter the status quo. The changes that result can affect communities, industries, nations, and the world.

What Women Have Been Game-Changers?

Rebecca Lee Crumpler overcame racism and sexism to obtain a medical degree in 1864. She became the first female African American doctor in the U.S. Rachel Carson, the marine scientist and author of the game-changing book about the harm caused by pesticides, Silent Spring, is often credited with launching the environmental movement in the 1960s. Muriel Siebert became the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967. She established the first women-owned and operated brokerage firm in 1969. These are just three of countless women game-changers, each of whom faced incredible obstacles but persevered to accomplish remarkable goals that affected the lives of others.

How Do Game-Changers Make Things Happen?

Generally, game-changers make things happen by looking for and seeing things that others don't. They strive to be innovative in small or large ways. Importantly, they understand that they'll make the progress they seek by being persistent, committed, courageous, energetic, visionary, and hard working. What's more, if they find that they don't have the knowledge or experience to reach their goals, they get it.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

Brad Stone. "The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon," Chapter 2. Little, Brown and Company, 2013.
Bloomberg. "Amazon Begins New Chapter as Bezos Hands Over CEO Role."
Bezos Expeditions. “Bezos Expeditions.”
Wired. “How Elon Musk Turned Tesla into the Car Company of the Future.”
National Women's History Museum. "Biography: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler."
Lockwood, Alex. "The Affective Legacy of Silent Spring." Environmental Humanities, vol. 1, no. 1, 2012.
National Women's History Museum. "Biography: Muriel Siebert."

Open a New Bank Account

×

The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.