“If you’re not improving, you're in decline. When you're improving, you’re staving off the aging process in many regards - mentally, spiritually, in every regard.”

In this episode, we talk about the power of innovation and Lean thinking (or Kaizen) and Six Sigma. My guest and I discuss how he learned the strategic approach that focuses on dramatically improving flow in the value stream and eliminating waste, and how he applied it to his company - turning it into the huge success that it is today.

Many of the listeners of this show will appreciate all the great tips from this conversation, especially for the business owners and business leaders out there as you’ll find it is filled with actionable info that you can apply to your process right away!

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Paul Akers is the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. 

FastCap was started in Paul’s garage in 1997 when he simply “fixed what bugged him” and developed his first product: the Fastcap Cover Cap. From humble beginnings, and no MBA, FastCap has thousands of distributors worldwide in over 40 countries. 

Paul’s intense curiosity on how things could be improved paved the way for him to become a prolific innovator and today he holds many US and International patents. FastCap launches approximately 20-30 innovative products per year and has won business of the year in 1999 and 2010. 

In June 2011 Paul won Seattle Business Magazine’s prestigious Business Executive of the Year award. He wrote his first book, 2 Second Lean, about creating a fun, Lean culture, that is now available in 15 languages. In 2015, he wrote his 2nd book, Lean Health, in 2016, he wrote Lean Travel and in 2019, he wrote Lean Life and Banish Sloppiness. In 2016, Paul’s book, 2 Second Lean, was recognized by the Shingo Institute and won the Research and Professional Publication Award.

To learn more about Paul and his work, please visit:

https://paulakers.net/

https://www.youtube.com/@PaulaAkers

ABOUT OUR HOST

Ken Eslick is an Entrepreneur, Author, Podcaster, Tony Robbins Trainer, Life Coach, Husband of 35+ Years, and Grandfather. Ken currently spends his time as the President & Founder of The Leaders Lab where he and his team focus on Senior Leadership Acquisition. They get founders the next level C-Suite Leaders they need to go from being an Inc. Magazine 5000 fastest growing company to $100,000,000 + in revenue. 

You can learn more about Ken and his team at 

theleaderslab.co

Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:

https://missionmatters.com/author/ken-eslick/