To do something great, start small. Or, what entrepreneurs and leaders can learn from Chris Nolan and Hans Zimmer.

This is not a long essay, but the subject matter, I felt, was more worthy of an essay than a post. The premise is simple, and as articulated in the title.

While there are many great film-makers out there today, I am always impressed by the consideration Christopher Nolan gives to every element of his films, and how he constructs them. That they are often these big blockbusters that achieve some level of critical acclaim is a testament to that consideration.

One partnership that often repeats is his work with Hans Zimmer on his film soundtracks, and I am absolutely in love with this video I found of him and Zimmer discussing how they came up with the music for Interstellar.

Watch it here:

There's so many amazing things that stand out about that process of creation. But where I linger is how Nolan initiates it.

He asks Zimmer for one page of music, not about something grandiose or sci-fi or any of that: he asks him for one page of music illustrating the relationship between a parent and their child. That's the heart of this broad sweeping story: one single relationship that means the world, and that can therefore hold together this story that transcends time, and all the vastness of space.

Once you have that riff, that story, that emotion in place, you can scale it up in your execution: your services, your channels, your business models.

And those choices are important. From the use of 70mm IMAX to shoot the film, to the use of a church organ to "breathe" life and an almost religiosity into the theme that Zimmer arrived at.

But the "scale" comes later. The "core" needs to be specific, small, and most importantly, human and true, not opinion and ideology.

This is what lean and agile development are about in the modern development approach: finding small problems you solve, and scaling from there. And this is what the technology world can learn from cinematic maestros.

While many try to envision panaceas that can solve all problems, the truth is that you only truly scale if your core comes from an existential need. Start with that need, and build the layers of service and channel to tell your story and serve your customers from there.

Mother Teresa once said, "We do no great things, only small things, with great love."

Find your small things, and then go build, with love.