How to Coach Yourself and Others Techniques For Coaching | Page 169

innovative solutions to problems. Composer Stephen Sondheim once
said:
"If you ask me to write a song about the ocean, I'm stumped. But if you
tell me to write a ballad about a woman in a red dress falling off her
stool at three in the morning, I'm inspired."
Two examples of how you can allow your creativity to soar by setting
limits are the "Three Units for a Good Tragedy" explained below and
"The Houdini Solution" explained in the next text module.:
The Three Unities for A Good Tragedy
In an interview published on "Heads up! on Organizational Innovation",
creativity guru Roger von Oech explains that constraints force the
innovator to think and look more deeply for opportunities. As an
example, he explains that he was watching a Roman Polanski's 1962
film titled "Knife in the Water". One of the DVD's special features had an
interview with Polanski and his screenwriter in which they both stated
that they forced themselves to stick with Aristotle's "three unities for a
good tragedy":
- All action takes place within 24 hours;
- All action occurs in the same place; and
- There is a limited number of characters
This made them think more deeply about plot and character rather
than taking cinematic shortcuts. That is, these three limits helped them
create a much better film than they would have put together had they
not set any limits.
The Houdini Solution
This lens by Ernie Schenck, author of "The Houdini Solution", explains
that creative breakthroughs occur because of limitations, not in spite of
them.

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