Two automobile companies were competing for a contract to produce brakes for a golf cart. Since both competitors were in the automotive field, they were competing on the basis of redesigns of an automobile brake system.

One company decided to make a similar brake system to the ones made for cars, but with smaller components. (This seeking solutions only in one's field is called "psychological inertia" because it is natural for people to rely on their own experience and not think outside their specialty.)

The other company’s engineers decided to “think outside the box” and approach the problem differently. Instead of depending on old ways of doing things, they redesigned a bicycle brake system, making its components larger. The result was a reduction in the number of golf cart brake parts from twelve to four, and a cost savings of 50%. Naturally, the second company was awarded the contract.