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Entrepreneurs are natural gamechangers. They have chosen to play their own game, driven by ambition and uninhibited by function or hierarchy. Large businesses have advantages too, assets to apply in new ways, existing brands and customer bases on which to build. Gamechangers can be anyone, business leaders or strategists, innovators or marketers, somebody on a shop floor or in a call centre. They can change the game because they think differently.

Gamechangers typically innovate in one or more of the following dimensions – the why, who, what and how – of the whole business, or any part of it. They might apply this thinking to the business strategy, but it could also apply to a brand or service experience, leadership style or organization process.

• Change the ‘why' (the purpose, application or benefit) – for example, from maximizing profits to enhancing people's lives, from being the biggest to being the best, from enabling communication to providing entertainment. When Coca-Cola changed its purpose from the more functional ‘refreshment' to more emotional ‘happiness' it was able to engage people much more deeply.

• Change the ‘who' (the geography, customer or context) – for example, from ‘home' markets to selected markets worldwide, targeting older people rather than everyone, or women, or a different decision maker in a company. When Fiat 500 changed its target audience from low-cost owners to funky young things, it stepped out of its old peer group, and became affordable, urban fashion.

• Change the ‘what' (the category, product or experience) – for example, combining products to solve problems, personalizing products on demand, offering 24/7 service, making the experience fun, or extending to support people in their application. When Rapha realized it was not its clothing but togetherness that mattered to cyclists, it opened cafés and became the cult place to hang out.

Change Compass

• Change the ‘how' (the business model, service style or participation) – for example, from transactional pricing to membership fees, prices that change by time of day, reduced price in return for new ideas, or sold through new types of partners. When Zipcars wanted to be different, it didn't charge per week like other car rental companies, but created a membership club and then charged a much smaller fee per minute and mile.

The four dimensions are a simple compass by which to stretch your thinking. Some of the best innovations change in more than one dimension, or even all of them. Gamechangers then need to think about how they turn their disruptive ideas into a practical strategy for business success – what it means in terms of market and brand, innovation and marketing, business model and customer experience, resources and metrics. But all of this comes later, and often flows easier, once you have found a big, inspiring idea.