(note: none of the following has anything to do with office layout)
"Joel’s management philosophy is deceptively simple: hire smart people who get things done, and get the hell out of their way. The role of management is to give the people who actually do the work — the developers, designers, sysadmins, etc. — all the tools they need to get their jobs done, and then trust them to do the job!"
Let's say you work directly with about 15 people. The majority of those people are remote, with some local. The manager hangs back in meetings and listens for problems, and hurriedly works to resolve roadblocks for their direct reports. They also chime in occasionally if people need a reminder of a pressing high priority item or objective.
Now let's say those 15 people all come from different places and all have different ways of 'getting things done'. One person builds a unicycle in order to achieve the goal of 'transporting A to B'. Another person builds a bicycle. Yet another attempts to build a space shuttle.
If you're really really lucky, all of these different inventions and methods will simply mesh, and there will be no friction within the team, and things just churn on forever.
If you're dealing with smart, experienced people, there may be a lot of back-and-forth discussion while people try to figure out which kind of solution is the best.
If you're dealing with egocentric 'rock stars', absolutely nothing gets done unless someone basically bullies someone else into caving on their method.
Even if nobody actually ever voices a problem with the way someone else works, it is in a manager's interest to be invested in the past, present and future of the work produced. Legacy systems need to keep working, current designs need to be in-line with best practice, and planned work needs to be future-proof and maintainable. How do they do that by staying hands-off?
Where do I think Joel's management philosophy leaves you? If you're lucky, with product that mirrors the quality of your employees combined with their ability to form a single cohesive unit where everyone's work complements each other. If you're not lucky, you get arguments, delays, and code that doesn't support the goals of the project or the group.
---
On a completely unrelated note: Jesus would I love to have a full kitchen in my office. I would be inspired to try to cook creative dishes and share with my coworkers. And i'd spend more time in the office.