Strong habits don’t just make engineering teams more effective - they create the foundation for sustained success. That’s a lesson I’ve learned over and over throughout my career. During a conversation with Mark Interrante on the "Always an Engineer" podcast, we explored seven habits that highly effective engineering teams cultivate. These habits are not only critical for driving team performance but also highly applicable to the challenge of cloud cost management.
At Yotascale, we’ve seen how small, consistent actions drive big results in managing cloud costs. Let’s dive into the seven habits and how they can help your team take control of cloud spend.
Mark Interrante is a seasoned technology leader with extensive experience in building and scaling engineering teams. His insights into effective engineering habits have helped shape high-performing teams across industries.
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn to learn more about his leadership strategies and insights.
1. Start with the End in Mind
When tackling cloud cost management, it’s easy to focus on the immediate problem - an over-provisioned instance, an untagged resource. But to make a real impact, you need to start with a clear vision of your desired outcome.
Define your goals. Are you aiming to reduce overall cloud spend by 20%? Improve utilization by 30%? Without clarity, it’s hard to prioritize effectively.
At Yotascale, we begin every customer engagement by asking: "What does success look like for your team?" That clarity ensures we’re solving the right problems and delivering measurable value.
2. Make Durable Commitments
Mark highlighted the importance of clear and reliable communication within teams. When it comes to cloud cost management, alignment is everything. Teams need to agree on responsibilities, timelines, and expected outcomes.
For example, when optimizing a multi-cloud environment, it’s critical to know who owns the tagging strategy, who’s monitoring cost anomalies, and how decisions will be implemented. At Yotascale, we encourage our customers to formalize these commitments upfront. It prevents confusion and ensures everyone is rowing in the same direction.
3. Build Small, Effective Habits
Habits compound over time. By embedding small, consistent practices into your workflow, you can make cost optimization second nature.
Start with simple routines:
- Review your cost dashboard every Monday morning.
- Tag new resources immediately after they’re provisioned.
- Flag anomalies as part of your weekly stand-up agenda.
Mark’s advice resonates here: “Find stable anchors in your day to stack habits - whether it’s your morning coffee or wrapping up at the end of the day.” These micro-habits create momentum, helping teams avoid the overwhelm of tackling everything at once.
4. Sharpen the Saw
Continuous improvement is a hallmark of effective teams. After completing a cost-saving initiative, take time to reflect: What worked? What didn’t? What can you do better next time?
At Yotascale, we encourage customers to treat each optimization project as a learning opportunity. For example, after rightsizing a major workload, we analyze whether the tools, data, and processes we used were as effective as they could be. This practice not only refines our approach but also keeps teams engaged and motivated.
5. Avoid the Distraction Trap
In cloud environments, it’s easy to get pulled in a hundred directions. Staying focused on high-impact tasks is critical.
One technique we recommend is time-blocking. Dedicate specific blocks of time to tackle complex cost optimization efforts, and minimize distractions during those periods. Mark’s insight is spot-on: “The longer you stay in a flow state, the closer you get to solving the problem.”
At Yotascale, we’ve seen how intentional focus - even for a few hours a week - can lead to breakthroughs in identifying cost inefficiencies.
6. Seek to Understand Before Acting
Rushing to fix inefficiencies without understanding their root causes can lead to wasted effort. Effective teams take the time to diagnose the problem fully before implementing a solution.
For example, if a workload is over-provisioned, ask why. Is it due to outdated scaling rules? Is the architecture misaligned with usage patterns? By digging deeper, you’ll often uncover opportunities for more sustainable optimizations.
As I often say, "Taking a step back to truly understand the problem often reveals better and more sustainable solutions." This principle is foundational to how Yotascale approaches cloud cost management.
7. Celebrate Small Wins
Cost optimization is an ongoing journey, and celebrating progress is essential for maintaining momentum. Whether it’s reducing costs for a single service or successfully implementing a tagging strategy, recognize the team’s efforts.
Mark’s advice rings true: “Small wins build confidence and drive the virtuous cycle of improvement.” At Yotascale, we make it a point to share success stories across our customer’s teams, reinforcing the impact of consistent effort.
Conclusion
Effective cloud cost management isn’t about one-off fixes - it’s about building habits that lead to sustained progress. By adopting these seven habits, your team can stay focused, aligned, and proactive in optimizing cloud spend.
Whether you’re an engineer looking to make an impact or a leader guiding your team, start small. Choose one or two habits to implement this week. Over time, these small steps will add up to significant results.
At Yotascale, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Let’s build the habits that drive better cloud cost management - together.
