When I tell people I haven’t had a desk for 20 years, they usually respond with thinly veiled skepticism.
當我告訴人們我已經有20年沒有辦公桌了，他們通常會幾乎不加掩飾地表示懷疑。
They smile and nod politely, clearly assuming I’m exaggerating to make a point about my hectic lifestyle.
他們微笑並禮貌地點頭，顯然假設我是在誇大我的緊張生活方式。
But I genuinely haven’t.
但我真的沒有。
Occasionally someone will call me: “Really?" they ask. "How does that work?”
偶爾有人會給我打電話：“真的嗎？”他們問。“這是怎麼回事？”
I do use a desk, but in all honesty I don’t have one at our London office, and I haven’t had one since we started out.
我確實用過一張桌子，但老實說，在我們的倫敦辦公室裡，我沒有一張桌子，而且自從我們開始工作以來，我也沒有過一張。
Remote working, hot-desking, fluid office shares and digital hangouts are all changing the shape of work in the 21st century.
在21世紀，遠程工作、辦公桌熱辦公、流動辦公共享和數字出沒都在改變著工作的形態。
I didn't preempt any of these trends, but I did find a way of working that was best for me and my business, and I’m not surprised it's becoming more common.
我沒有先發制人，但我確實找到了一種對我和我的企業最好的工作方式，而且我並不驚訝它變得越來越普遍。
If you’re running a company with clients all over the world, then being desk-free is a great way to stay mobile, responsive and in touch with clients.
如果你經營的公司客戶遍及世界各地，那麼無辦公桌是保持移動，響應和與客戶聯繫的一個很好的方式。
It’s liberating.
這是解放。
There are some solid statistics here too to keep your CFO happy.
這裡也有一些可靠的統計數據，可以讓你的首席財務官滿意。
A report by consultants Brickendon says the average annual cost of keeping a desk is £8,000 in London, $13,000 in New York.
諮詢公司Brickendon的一份報告稱，在倫敦，保持一張辦公桌的平均年成本為8000英鎊，在紐約為1.3萬美元。
Apparently that adds up to an average spend of £4.1 million in the UK and $6.7 million in the US on desks per company.
顯然，每個公司在辦公桌上的平均花費在英國為410萬英鎊，在美國為670萬美元。
But much of this goes to waste; the same report estimates around £1.6 million and $2.6 million is spent unnecessarily by companies on desks.
但其中大部分都被浪費了；同一份報告估計，公司在辦公桌上不必要地花費了大約160萬英鎊和260萬美元。
Another report on the subject asserts desks are generally only ever at 48 percent of capacity utilization.
另一份關於這一主題的報告稱，辦公桌的容量利用率通常只有48%。
The overheads alone make a compelling case to go desk-free. I’m not saying it’s the best model for everyone, but I believe the following points making it worth considering for any business leader in the 2020s.
光是管理費用就足以令人信服地實現無辦公桌模式。我並不是說這對每個人都是最好的模式，但我相信以下幾點讓20世紀20年代的任何商業領袖都值得考慮。
Realize the potential of remote working
實現遠程工作的潛力
Too many entrepreneurs see remote working as a way to cut costs by saving on office space and utilizing a competitive talent pool of freelancers.
太多的企業家將遠程工作視為節省辦公空間和利用具有競爭力的自由職業者人才庫來降低成本的一種方式。
But that is just one dimension.
但這只是一個維度。
Remote working also gives you, the CEO, the opportunity to constantly network.
遠程工作還為您(CEO)提供了不斷聯網的機會。
By being out of the office, you’re able to move with your clients, coming to them within a few days rather than waiting for the next time they just happen to be in your city.
通過離開辦公室，你可以和你的客戶一起搬家，在幾天內來到他們身邊，而不是等到他們下一次碰巧在你的城市。
If you really plan your schedule, you can minimize disruption, travel time and jet lag and actually take advantage of time differences.
如果你真的計劃你的時間表，你可以儘量減少干擾，旅行時間和時差，並真正利用時差。
Working spaces in hotels, trains, planes and even cars still aren’t optimal, but they’re improving all the time, because these companies realize their facilities are a deal-breaker for some of their best clients.
酒店、火車、飛機甚至汽車中的工作空間仍然不是最理想的，但它們一直在改進，因為這些公司意識到，對於他們一些最好的客戶來說，他們的“設施”是一個破壞交易的因素。
The same is true of their digital communication systems; there isn’t really anywhere in the world you can’t take a conference call.
他們的數字通信系統也是如此；世界上沒有任何地方你不能參加電話會議。
Better networking
更好的網絡
Desk-free working should mean more face-to-face meetings, not fewer.
無辦公桌工作應該意味著更多的面對面會議，而不是更少。
Everybody is now digitally connected.
現在每個人都是數字連接的。
That puts a premium on meeting colleagues, suppliers, clients and potential prospects in person.
這使得與同事、供應商、客戶和潛在客戶面對面會面變得更加重要。
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