The Secret trick in FinOps: It’s Not What You Think

When we talk about FinOps, the conversation often revolves around dashboards, anomaly detection, Reserved Instances, and savings plans. These are the cornerstones of a strong FinOps practice—hard data that drives informed decisions. Yet, there’s a less discussed yet equally critical aspect of FinOps: its ability to bring people together, change behavior, and introduce new ways of thinking.

FinOps isn’t just about tools and processes; it’s a team sport. It’s about getting people—whether they’re from finance, engineering, or operations—to collaborate, break down silos, and work toward shared goals. Achieving this requires more than data or dashboards; it requires influence, connection, and stories.

As humans, we’ve always been drawn to stories. Thousands of years ago, long before we had dashboards, graphs, or metrics, we relied on stories to teach, learn, and make sense of the world. Stories told us where to hunt, how to build, or even how to protect our tribes from danger. These tales shaped behaviors and created unity. They taught us how to succeed together.

This love for storytelling hasn’t changed. Stories remain one of the most effective ways to connect with others, influence behavior, and inspire action. And when stories are combined with the tools of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), they become even more powerful.

NLP teaches us that storytelling isn’t just about delivering information—it’s about understanding the connection between the teller and the audience. If you can make that connection, you open the door to helping others see how they can succeed. As the teller, you’re not just delivering facts; you’re guiding your audience toward a new perspective, helping them realize how they can accomplish their mission in a better way.

In my experience as a certified NLP Practitioner, I’ve learned that the most effective storytellers don’t just focus on the message itself—they focus on what they want to achieve with the story. Every word, every phrase, and every tone matters. If you approach storytelling with clarity about what you want your audience to take away, you can craft messages that truly resonate.

One of the key lessons I’ve learned is to pay attention to the language we use in storytelling, particularly in FinOps conversations. A simple yet impactful rule from NLP is to avoid the word “but.” While seemingly harmless, “but” can subtly negate everything that comes before it. For example, if you say, “You did a great job, but we need to fix the cloud budget,” the listener will only hear the second part of your sentence. Instead, replacing “but” with “and” creates a sense of inclusion and positivity: “You did a great job, and we’ll build on this by optimizing the cloud budget.” Small adjustments like this can make a huge difference in how people perceive your message.

Let’s look at how storytelling and NLP principles can be applied in FinOps:

Start with the audience’s perspective. Every effective story begins with an understanding of the audience’s needs and challenges. For example, engineers might feel that cloud costs distract them from their work, while finance teams might feel overwhelmed by unpredictable spending. Address these concerns upfront to build trust. When people feel understood, they’re more likely to listen to your message.

Know what you want to achieve. Before crafting your story, ask yourself: What do I want the listener to feel, think, or do by the end of this conversation? For instance, if you’re introducing accountability in FinOps, your goal might be to inspire pride rather than fear. Framing accountability as a tool for showcasing expertise and driving success—rather than assigning blame—can lead to a more positive reception.

Use analogies and visuals to simplify complexity. Analogies are incredibly powerful for helping people grasp complex ideas. For example, I often compare FinOps to a sports team. In a team, everyone has a role—finance tracks the score, engineers execute the plays, and leadership sets the strategy. Together, the team succeeds. Analogies like this help simplify FinOps concepts and make them more relatable.

Plant seeds of change through subtle messaging. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s rarely successful when forced. Instead, focus on planting ideas that can grow over time. For example, instead of saying, “We need accountability in this organization,” you could say, “Imagine if every decision we made directly influenced our success. What would that look like for our team?” This phrasing invites curiosity and opens the door to exploring new ideas without resistance.

Reframe resistance into opportunity. When people push back, it’s an opportunity to change their perspective. If a stakeholder says, “This will just add more work to our team,” you can reframe the objection by saying, “What if this gave your team more control over cloud outcomes, saving time and reducing surprises?” By focusing on benefits instead of challenges, you encourage buy-in. You can also see this as an opportunity to introduce some more growth mindset principles.

Reinforce the story through repetition. Stories and messages need to be repeated consistently to take root. The more your audience hears a concept, the more natural it becomes. For example, if accountability is a key FinOps principle, make it a recurring theme in meetings, reports, and conversations. You don’t call it accountability every time. It can be packaged differently. Share examples of success stories where accountability led to measurable results for example.

For me, this journey began in my previous career as an architect and pre-sales professional. Storytelling was my day-to-day job, whether I was explaining a complex system to a client, presenting a solution, or aligning stakeholders on a shared goal. I quickly realized that stories weren’t just about presenting information—they were about creating connection and helping others see how they could succeed. Often my presentation today are different stories explaining for example data with a story. This is something that resonates well and most of the time the framing you do helps to digest the message more easily.

When I decided to dive deeper into storytelling and become a certified NLP Practitioner. At the time, I thought it was just about becoming a better communicator for pre-sales. However, what I learned went far beyond sales conversations. NLP gave me tools to craft stories that resonate, reframe resistance into collaboration, and connect with people on a deeper level. These skills have transformed the way I approach not just work but also life. That’s why I believe the one of the most valuable skills any FinOps professional can learn isn’t anomaly detection or advanced cost analysis—it’s communication. So, if you’re looking to improve your FinOps practice in 2025, I encourage you to go beyond another FinOps training and invest in NLP. Learning NLP won’t just make you a better FinOps professional—it will make you a better teammate, leader, and communicator. It will help you craft messages that resonate, inspire others to take action, and drive meaningful change in your organization.

At the end of the day, FinOps isn’t just about dashboards or savings (although important ;-))—it’s about people.

The most powerful changes start with a single story. What’s yours?