Why Ishikawa Shutters Offices: Embracing Remote Work for Success

Every few weeks, someone asks why Ishikawa shutters the offices that come with the software firms we buy. Cam Dyer quizzed me on it at Melior's tech breakfast.

The short answer is that abandoning fixed desks is the cleanest route to Jim Collins’ Good to Great flywheel. We aim to get the right people on the bus, point the bus at a single Hedgehog goal, and give it disciplined momentum. Remote work is the fuel that keeps the wheels turning, especially here in Britain and Ireland, where a wet commute on the M25 or M50 is nobody’s idea of greatness.

The Importance of the Right People

Collins teaches that excellence starts with the right people. Mature businesses already have them; our job is not to scare them away. Since January, 40% of UK employees work remotely at least some of the week, with 14% fully remote. The same ONS release shows 28% now hybrid, up sharply from 2022. Talent funnels follow those preferences: senior engineers, finance leads, and product marketers increasingly filter job boards for remote-only positions.

When firms ignore that signal, they face consequences. The CIPD estimates nearly 80,000 Scots have already quit roles that imposed an office mandate in 2024–25. Put simply, you cannot build a great bus if half your passengers hop off at the first service station.

Our Hedgehog Concept: Lean Overheads

A hedgehog does one thing supremely well. Ours is simplification. Office leases are the antithesis of that. Central-London vacancy sits at ~9% overall, yet “best-in-class” space still rents at £85–£160 psf. Closing buildings and sub-letting leftover space frees capital for product upgrades and bolt-on deals—the real economic engine.

Fostering a Culture of Discipline

Collins warns that bureaucracy creeps in when you lack self-disciplined people. Remote work spotlights output instead of hours. This shift forces clear goals, version-controlled documentation, and transparent metrics. Our playbook includes:

1. Asynchronous by Default – Meetings must prove they can’t be a document.

2. Follow-the-Sun Hand-offs – Propose a decision and wait a maximum of one day for feedback, then proceed.

3. Quality Control – Everyone's work is reviewed or peer-reviewed.

   
   

The result mirrors wider evidence. Eurofound’s 2025 case studies across Austria, Finland, Lithuania, and Spain report higher motivation and job quality in well-run hybrid/remote models. Meanwhile, an IMF survey finds remote pairing boosts labour productivity across Europe.

Technology as an Accelerator

Collins states that technology should speed a flywheel you’re already pushing. Tools like DevOps allow our teams to ship features without a Tuesday stand-up in Reading or Ringsend. Britain’s new Flexible Working Act (in force since April 2024) embeds this reality in law, giving staff the right to request remote work from day one.

The Flywheel Effect on Retention and Acquisition

Sellers care deeply about their people. Offering 100% remote roles means the support engineer in Galway and the QA lead in Leeds keep their roles and their rhythm. Turnover drops, customer knowledge stays put, earn-outs are not needed, and our acquisition pipeline warms up as founders see that track record.

Sustainability: Cutting Scope 3 Emissions

When the EPA modelled Ireland’s remote-working hubs, it found each user who swaps three office days for a hub avoids 1.1 t CO₂ a year. Wider European modelling by Carbon Trust shows remote and hybrid patterns could trim 12 Mt of CO₂ annually in Germany alone.

Commuters in Great Britain also reclaim an average 56 minutes every WFH day. Less traffic, lower emissions, and more family breakfast time—hard to classify that as anything but a win-win.

Myth-Busting the ‘Bums-on-Seats’ Brigade

Jamie Dimon may insist remote staff “will not tell JPMorgan what to do,” yet banks and consultancies sit on eye-watering real estate portfolios. High occupancy props up balance-sheet valuations. That is a balance-sheet problem, not a productivity problem. Industry-wide data from 61 sectors shows a shift to remote correlates with higher total-factor productivity and lower unit costs.

On the contrary, limiting your hiring pool to a 50km radius of your office means you're likely missing out on the best talent the world has to offer.

The Road Ahead

Great companies, Collins reminds us, confront brutal facts and then act with faith. The facts in Britain and Ireland are clear: knowledge workers want flexibility, the law now expects employers to take it seriously, and the climate emergency demands fewer commutes. Our faith is in seasoned specialists doing focused work with minimal friction.

So yes, the lights will stay off, the servers will stay on, and Ishikawa’s bus will keep rolling, powered by remote-first discipline rather than London or Dublin postcodes.

Thinking of Selling?

If you’re a software founder or adviser exploring an exit and want your team looked after, let’s talk. Email sourcing@ishikawatech.com. We’ll bring the coffee-shop chat; you can forget the office tour.