Ever wonder why limiting Work-In-Progress (WIP) can increase productivity?

It sounds counterintuitive, but a small Japanese restaurant has mastered it.

Here’s how controlling WIP can do the same for your teams. 👇

There’s a Japanese restaurant my family loves to visit nearby. 🍣 It’s always full, both at lunch and dinner, with people queuing happily to get in. They only have 6 tables for 4 people and 4 tables for 2, all circling the sushi kitchen where the chefs prepare meals in front of everyone.

Here’s what’s fascinating: No matter how busy or quiet it is, the food always arrives on time. Fresh, impeccable, and with great customer service. The secret? They understand their capacity.

They could easily add more tables, but they don’t. Those 10 tables act as their WIP limit—they only serve as many people as they can serve well.

Most leaders cringe when they hear the term “limiting WIP.” They feel it’s counterproductive: “We haven’t been able to deliver as much as we’d hoped for, and now you want us to limit the work we start?”

But here’s the thing: increasing WIP beyond a certain threshold usually results in longer lead times, poor quality, and frustration. It leads to burnout, extended queue time, and wasted effort.

In 2016, at a workshop with Donald Reinertsen in Bangalore, I learned that it’s not really about limiting WIP—it’s about controlling it. And that’s exactly what this restaurant does so well.

By controlling their WIP (the number of diners at any given time), they ensure that every customer is served promptly and leaves satisfied. In return, they get happy customers, an always-full restaurant, and a steady stream of new visitors.

In knowledge work, controlling WIP leads to faster throughput, shorter lead times, higher predictability, and higher quality. It reduces stress and burnout and, ultimately, delivers more value.

Is your system overloaded? How do you control WIP in your organisation? Share your thoughts below. 👇