This article argues that running a professional-services firm at near-maximum capacity is counterproductive. It draws on concepts like queuing theory to show that as utilisation increases, delays and errors often seriously increase.

Who it’s useful for:

Firm owners, leaders or operations managers in service-businesses looking to optimise capacity, quality and future growth, and teams questioning the “always fully loaded” model and exploring alternatives for sustainable practice.

How it can help:

• Encourages reframing business models: less about squeezing maximum utilisation, more about effectiveness, innovation and future readiness.
• Helps teams identify risks of overloaded workflows: burnout, quality drops, delayed deliverables.
• Supports strategic decision-making: investing time in innovation rather than only servicing today’s work.

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