{"id":4681,"date":"2022-07-05T07:10:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T11:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/?p=4681"},"modified":"2022-07-05T07:10:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T11:10:39","slug":"throwback-with-paul-akers-on-simple-lean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/throwback-with-paul-akers-on-simple-lean\/","title":{"rendered":"Throwback With Paul Akers on Simple Lean"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/leansolutions\/embed\/episodes\/Throwback-With-Paul-Akers-on-Simple-Lean-e1knra3\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Due to my travel schedule this week, I wanted to share a throwback to a conversation I had with Paul Akers this past year. Paul is an author, entrepreneur and the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder.<\/p>\n<p>In this episode, Paul and I go over how Lean can be applied to improve your work environment and why you need to focus on small consistent changes when trying to make improvements.<br \/>\n<b>What You\u2019ll Learn This Episode:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">How Lean helped Paul in Ironman<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">FastCap and the inspiration behind the company<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The importance of listening to customers<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Making time to fix what\u2019s bothering you<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">2 second improvement and why it\u2019s simple<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">The inspiration behind Paul\u2019s videos<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">What it takes to be a good leader in an organization with Lean culture<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Paul\u2019s advice for someone just starting on their Lean journey<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>About the Guest:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s garage in 1997 when he simply \u201cfixed what bugged him\u201d 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s book, 2 Second Lean, was recognized by the Shingo Institute and won the Research and Professional Publication Award.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Important Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/paulakers.net\/books\/2-second-lean\">https:\/\/paulakers.net\/books\/2-second-lean<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/paulakers.net\/\">https:\/\/paulakers.net\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/2-second-lean-play\/id1503694993\">https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/2-second-lean-play\/id1503694993<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.leanplay\">https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.leanplay<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Full Episode Transcripts:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"height: 350px; width: 700px; border: 1px solid #ccc; font: 16px\/26px poppins, Garamond, Serif; overflow: auto;\">\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the Lean solutions podcast where we discuss business solutions to help listeners develop and implement action plans for true Lean process improvement. I am your host, Patrick Adams. Hello, everybody. Our guest today is Paul Akers. Paul is an entrepreneur, the founder and president of FastCap, author of five books. He\u2019s also an international speaker and my favorite title for you, Paul, is that you\u2019re a lean Maniac. Welcome to the show.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The bad trick that best describes me<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, so I\u2019m actually it\u2019s pretty cool to see what\u2019s behind you on your screen for those that are listening in and not watching the video. Here. We see an ocean picture behind Paul which looks like some wave surfing or some kite surfing. Right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly. Exactly. Midday and Aspen, you know, cuz I\u2019m in Mexico. Yeah, that\u2019s exactly what my new passion is, kite surfing. Oh, I love getting out there and feeling nature at its finest environment, if you will.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And but before we hit record, we were just chatting a little bit about kitesurfing. And you were saying that it\u2019s actually a bit dangerous. If you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing. Is that correct?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, yeah, it\u2019s very, very dangerous. The kite is so powerful, it can pull you out of the water, 30 feet up in the air and then take you, you know, 100 yards, any which direction in a second. So if there\u2019s a tree or an obstacle, or anything, you can hit a rock, it can be very, it can be deadly. So you have to have, you have to absolutely know what\u2019s going on, good processes are a great example of lean, you have to have very good processes, extremely good training. So you can anticipate potential disasters and take the appropriate action.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wow, my son loves skimboarding. And so he would just love to learn a little bit more about kitesurfing, because he just has a blast anytime around the beach. He\u2019s got to have a skimboard out and he\u2019s just loving you know, just running along the beach and doing his spin moves and different things like that. You know, I don\u2019t know. Can you do that type of stuff with kite surfers? Oh, yeah, you<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>can fly in the air, spin around, flip upside down. It\u2019s gymnastics on steroids.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m sure I\u2019m sure you have to be pretty physically fit in order to do that. And one of the the questions that I had for you today actually was just about your past achievements in Ironman and just, you know, being able to complete I believe to you a two time Ironman, is that correct? Wow. So that\u2019s obviously amazing. How much you mentioned, lean just a little bit there around kitesurfing, how much of your lean learning you know your background in just understanding lean concepts. You know, have you applied to becoming a two time Ironman,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Personally, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be an Ironman if I didn\u2019t know lean and apply lean concepts. Because when I got involved in training for an Ironman, it took me 18 months. And the regiment or the program that they most people prescribed for doing it is hours and hours and hours a day. And I don\u2019t have hours and hours a day because I\u2019m a businessman, I travel, I\u2019ve got family, I\u2019ve got a lot of obligations. So I had to figure out how I could pull this off in 18 months, an hour a day by you know, just taking everything and reducing it down to the bare minimum, if you will, even though an hour a day is a bare minimum to be able to compete at that level. And I was able to do it and it worked very well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wow. That\u2019s amazing. Obviously not everybody can hold that title. So definitely kudos to you hats off. I\u2019m, I\u2019ve done some, you know, 10k races, 25k races. I actually did one triathlon a way back and the training for that alone was just incredible. It was incredible. I still run consistently for me, biking and swimming just wasn\u2019t a big interest to me, but I love to run. I mean, I run two, three times a week minimum and just absolutely love it. So definitely understand the work that you put into achieving that. I\u2019ll tell<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>you have a great story. Patrick, if you like to run you\u2019ll love this one. Yeah, so my first Ironman, I swam over two miles in the water, got out, rode a bike 112 Miles right and right when I was at the end of the bike ride, the guy yelled at me. Ah, awesome. Now you only have to run a marathon. And I thought, just think about that. Now you\u2019ve been going for like six hours. And now you only have to run a marathon. I\u2019ll never forget those words for the rest of my life. I\u2019d like God to help me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s no joke. It is definitely a lot of work but love love the fact that you do that and I know you even wrote one of your books around, you know the healthy part of what it takes to do something like that. And so, you know, again, if anybody\u2019s interested, I was looking for the title of that one. It\u2019s lean, healthy, lean health, I was gonna say healthy, healthy, lean, but lean health. So definitely look into that. But you mentioned you as a business owner, a traveler, you You are the the founder and the president of FastCap, which is a development company. And we\u2019ve actually purchased some of your products. I love watching your videos that are out there around FastCap. But you have distribution in over 40 countries. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you guys do at FastCap, and maybe even the inspiration behind starting the company?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, it\u2019s really simple. I\u2019m a cabinet maker. I\u2019m really a really, really simple guy. And I love woodworking. I\u2019m passionate about it. One night, at my shop, it was eight o\u2019clock at night, I was about ready to deliver a job. The next morning, I had to finish something. And what I had to finish was covering the screw holes inside of all the cabinets, I didn\u2019t like to show up on the job site, my customer saw all the screws that were holding finished in panels on toe kicks, and everything else. So I meticulously went through and kept them all, which took me 45 minutes, but I didn\u2019t want to do it. So I basically took a piece of thick plastic sprayed some contact adhesive on the back of it took my wife creative memory Christmas Tree stamp, hit it with a hammer punched out a Christmas tree out of hard plastic with adhesive on the back, stuck it over one of the schools and I said wow, that looks better than the injection molded one that didn\u2019t really match very well. So for the next three months, I tried to figure out how I was going to make this product I had about two or three employees at the time, I said you got to do everything, you got to do the estimate, you got to do the installation, building everything I\u2019m going to focus on trying to figure out how to make this product, I made the product. And today we have 800 products in the woodworking industry all over the world. And people love our products, because all of our ideas are lean ideas that come from our customers. So we don\u2019t even know, we come up with ideas, but we don\u2019t really need you. Because our customers know what the problem is just like the shop floor. People know what the problem is. So we listened to our customers, we pay them a 5% royalty, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wow. That\u2019s amazing. How important do you think it is for those that are listening in to listen to their customers? I mean, let\u2019s talk a little bit about that. What are your thoughts around how important it is to really be tied in to what your customers\u2019 needs are and really involve even involving your customers in the process of whatever it is that you\u2019re doing?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, here\u2019s what I\u2019m going to say with a little interesting answer. Nobody\u2019s ever really ever asked me that before, but I\u2019m gonna give you a very strange answer. It\u2019s not important at all. If you\u2019re 98% of the companies out there that are satisfied with being good. It\u2019s not important at all. You just keep doing what you\u2019re doing. You\u2019re the smart guy on the block, you have all the answers, your customers are not necessarily the smartest people, you\u2019re the you\u2019re the entrepreneur, you\u2019re the owner, it\u2019s not necessary at all. So it\u2019s not necessary. I\u2019m thinking in Spanish, but if you want operational excellence, if you want excellence, if you want extraordinary life and extraordinary experience as you travel through this light, it\u2019s essential. I love that answer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love that. And it\u2019s simple. Right? It\u2019s essential. I love it. So just going back to FastCap. Well, you know, one of the things actually, that I talked to a lot of my clients, when I mentioned your name is, you know, as a CEO, there\u2019s a lot of President CEO, I mean, you\u2019re obviously a very busy person. And one of the things that you do is you come into work early, you come into the office early, you\u2019re out on the production floor, I believe you use WhatsApp, but you as a company, you\u2019re out there asking your team members to show you what they fixed. You know, they\u2019re fixing what bugs them out on the floor, and you want them to show you and you\u2019re taking time to go do that. And you\u2019re videoing it and then I believe you posted out on WhatsApp to the entire company. Why do you do that? What\u2019s the motivation behind that as the president of FastCap?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, the first thing is a deep belief that people are smart, and that God made them with the capacity to solve problems. If as an owner, you know, you become very successful, we start making a lot of money, you start thinking you\u2019re the brain trust in the world, and it\u2019s just not the truth. The truth is that God made every human being with this capacity to think and solve problems. So I approach life through that filter. I don\u2019t care who you are, I know you have capacity. So I allow my people to stop work at anytime they want and solve a problem, particularly one that bugs them one that irritates the hell out of them stop and on my dime, run some experiments take 15 minutes, a half hour, an hour, two hours, get two or three people together, play with some different ideas and see what happens and I don\u2019t care if it fails. Because I know that if we do that consistently, the aggregation of the small two second improvements are going to create operational excellence for our company, for our team, and for our customers. There\u2019s no more to it than that. And I just know that we\u2019re back and I have proof of it. My company is outrageous. In every freaking regard. It\u2019s outrageous. Like so outrageous. People wouldn\u2019t people don\u2019t believe me, when I tell and show them what we\u2019re doing, it\u2019s not done. See possible, it makes the companies on Wall Street look like a joke. By comparison. Wow. Because it\u2019s all the aggregation of marginal gains, and people just don\u2019t believe that, but I do believe it cuz I know, scientifically, it\u2019s backed. And I also experienced it myself. So I know that it works,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>right. And for those that are, you know, listening in right now that maybe aren\u2019t an executive in executive leadership at their company, or a CEO or a president of a company, and they feel like I just don\u2019t have time for that, like, I don\u2019t, I\u2019m so busy. You know, with this and that, what would you say to someone that that\u2019s listen,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I would say you\u2019re part of the 98% of the world, knock yourself out, go keep doing what you\u2019re doing. You\u2019re like that 98%. This whole second lien thing is for 2% of the people of the world that people that are completely contrarians, they say, No, we\u2019re going to stop work. We\u2019re going to fix what bugs us and we\u2019re going to do it. Now. We know there\u2019s all these pressures, we know everybody wants everything, we\u2019re going to fix it now. Because we know that in the near future, definitely in the future, but in the near future, our productivity is going to be significantly higher with less defects and our customers are going to be higher, happier. So we\u2019re gonna stop now. And we\u2019re gonna fix it now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But most people don\u2019t get that it\u2019s not confusing to them. They don\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And it sounds simple, right, a two second improvement. And that\u2019s your most recent book. Two. Secondly, and you talk about small, consistent improvements. And obviously, you\u2019ve been able to prove it out at FastCap. But why do you think it is important to focus on those small consistent improvements?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because it\u2019s manageable. It\u2019s not too overwhelming for the average person who doesn\u2019t come at this with a deep understanding or deep knowledge. And we say to them, and this is how the whole story came about. I\u2019ll tell you the story. It\u2019s really interesting that they could just say, hey, you know, Patrick, just save, just save two seconds a day. I mean, that\u2019s nothing I mean, that where you put your toothpaste, instead of putting it in the drawer, put it on the counter neatly arranged in a specific place. So you\u2019d have to open the door and close the drawer every time twice a day to get it and to put it away, right? Just say two seconds. That\u2019s all I want. The story is really interesting. I was in the injection molding department, NYCLU ca was working for me as a young kid, maybe 1819 years old, and I would do my improvement walk every morning, walk through the entire facility and help everybody with their improvements. I got to Nick\u2019s department. I said, Nick, did you make an improvement? He said, No. And I said, is everything perfect in your department? He goes, Yeah, well, it\u2019s pretty good. I said, You mean there\u2019s nothing in here that bothers you, that irritates you? There\u2019s no everything\u2019s pretty good. Come on, Nick. There\u2019s got to be something that bothers you. And he goes, Well, now I think about it. Whenever I change the mold on the machine, I have to get it level before I bolted to the platen. And I always had to put a level on top and kind of bend my head inside the machine and kind of look to see if the vials level. I said, okay, that bugs you. How can we fix that Nick? And he said, I don\u2019t know. And I said, well look at it, what would it take for you to see that bio, and he goes, Well, I got to have some way to reflect it. So I\u2019d have to put my head in there. A mirror, we had a mirror, we went and got a little plastic mirror for our PLP department point of purchase display. Got it, glued it on there with hot glue, put a popsicle stick to support it like a gusset. All of a sudden he puts a level on there. He\u2019s not putting his head inside of the machine. You can see when the BIOS level or not he just the machine bolts it up goes wow. So Nick, that\u2019s all I want. Save yourself the two seconds of putting the level on there and putting your head inside and bringing it out. That\u2019s all I want. It was more comfortable for you. Great gave you greater happiness or Felicity, you walked up and approached that specific process. And it was much easier. That\u2019s all I want. Nicky goes yeah, I can do that. Two seconds, baby. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Amazing. And obviously, you\u2019ve been able to see the results of that at FastCap with developing a true culture of continuous improvement. Do you also have longer term projects that are happening improvement projects? Or, you know, 90 Day plans or anything like that? Or Or are you only focused on the small things that add up to large improvements?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, certainly we have some big monster prop projects that we have to undertake, whether it be rebuilding the injection molding department or working on inventory management systems that are commensurate with the sophistication of our company and the complexity of our company. We have projects like that that last for six months, but I\u2019m gonna be honest with it. I\u2019ll go back to the 98 and 2% 98% of everything we do. It\u2019s a small improvement. Sure, we had the big ones but not not a lot of them. And to be honest with you because we don\u2019t have the problems that most companies have? Because we\u2019re so crazy about solving every problem as it comes to us. We don\u2019t have these big monstrous issues that most people have, we have them occasionally, but not like other companies do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sure, sure. What do you think it takes to be a good leader in an organization with a culture of continuous improvement? Are there any specific, you know, skills, skill sets? Or, you know, what does it take you?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And you\u2019ve said that, I\u2019ve never given this answer before, and you can cut it out if you want to be more appropriate. But you have to realize that you have your head up your ass. And the minute you realize, as a leader, that you have your head up your ass, you\u2019re golden, you know. But if you approach everything like that, and you\u2019re the smartest guy and nobody else has any answers, and you can\u2019t shut your mouth and listen to somebody else, articulate a concept, it\u2019s over with, you\u2019re wasting your time. That\u2019s a great thing. So the polite, so the polite answered when it cut that one out is you need to be humble, and you need to realize other people have good ideas, and you\u2019re not the only brain trust in the world. Hmm,<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love that. And I definitely will not be cutting that answer out. That\u2019s a good answer. Okay, so I want to shift gears here a little bit, because I want to talk a little bit about your personal life because I do watch a lot of your videos like a lot of people do. I\u2019m sure that you are listening, especially the ones that you record at your house or in your garage. Because you offer practical examples that anyone can understand. And I\u2019m curious to hear you know, what, why do you do that? What\u2019s the motivation behind your, your videos that you post that are outside of you know, the the corporate office or the manufacturing plant? Or whatever it might be?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, it\u2019s a good question. And it\u2019s probably the cornerstone of who I am as a human being. All I care about is helping people grow, I get so much satisfaction and joy in life when I see another human being go through the discovery process and understand they have infinite capacity. So by me sharing what I\u2019m doing, some people might say, It\u2019s corny, why are you wasting your time because I know they\u2019re 1000s-10s of millions of people around the world who have been affected by these videos. We have millions and millions of people who have watched them. We have 10s of 1000s of companies globally who are doing two secondly, it\u2019s everywhere. I say from the smallest village in Africa, $2 billion oil companies are doing this to Chick fil A, I mean, the list is endless. And so there\u2019s so much joy in knowing that everyone\u2019s life is better. I\u2019ll tell you a great story that just happened to me. So I\u2019m living in a beautiful complex here in Mexico. And I walk down the corridor to go to my room and the girl is mopping the floor. And they have trained her to wring out the mop by hand. And oh my gosh, it\u2019s just so difficult. Right? And I have a Japanese spinning mop. You know what, it\u2019s pretty much you put it in there and yeah, what you put your pump and it spins it all out. And it just does a perfect job. It cleans the mop and rings it out. You can mop really effectively about So, three days ago I started doing this and I went down there and in Spanish. I explained to her that you can use my mob. I\u2019ll buy one for you if you want to stick to me. I don\u2019t care about the Bible. I can\u2019t see you work this hard. She said SR I would love to but I\u2019m not allowed to. I have to only work with the equipment that they\u2019ve given me. I have to do it the way they showed me. So today I\u2019m walking down there. And her supervisor is there watching and I go okay, I could add Amiga when a momento por una una pregunta proper. I said, I have a question for you. I have this month I put it all together. I showed her movie may horror much easier movie fatsia much simpler. She looks at you guys. Please use it. You can have it. And she took it in. Wow. And they\u2019re down there right now and we walk in love with it and they\u2019re using it right now. This is what gets me jacked up. Yes. When everyone has a better life because of improvement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hmm, that\u2019s amazing. That was such a great story and exactly what we want to hear is what you know, that\u2019s happening not just in the corporate world, but in everyday life. How Lean can be applied no matter what you\u2019re doing. And that\u2019s what I love about you know, watching your videos and listening to you talk and just knowing that you know lien is it\u2019s a way of life and you\u2019ve you\u2019re passionate about that you stand behind that like no one else that I know and so I don\u2019t want to say that. Yeah, wait for seven. Speaking of that TOS you know some people may not know this, but you are an instrument rated pilot and you\u2019ve actually flown your personal plane I believe all around the world, different places around the world yourself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been I\u2019ve landed over 500 airports and had three North Atlantic crossings in a single engine airplane, you know, just really crazy insane stuff. Love it. For the most part, I\u2019ve made some errors in my life. And I did some things I probably shouldn\u2019t have done. But I\u2019ve learned from Fortunately, I\u2019m still alive to tell the story. But yeah, I\u2019ve flown in the craziest conditions you could imagine landing in Iceland and Greenland and Stornoway, Scotland and Sardinia and a little island in the Mediterranean and lamina roam and oh, gosh, I could just go on and on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And one of the videos that I saw you were showing the instrument panel in your plane, and you were talking about Leader Standard Work and why that\u2019s important. And it was funny, because just after I saw your video, I didn\u2019t know it was a few months after, I found myself in Alaska, and I had the opportunity to fly with a bush pilot in a small plane. And we were on the runway getting ready to the short little runway that they take off in Alaska, which I was a little concerned about. But obviously he did an amazing job. So I\u2019m still alive as well today. But literally before he even started the plane, he pulled out a physical laminated checklist. And he literally went through and checked it off on each item that he had to go through to make sure that we had everything in place. And we were ready before takeoff. And I just thought it humble. And he knew his stuff. I mean, he was actually one of the trainers at this particular mission. They\u2019re training missionary pilots to go fly in inclement weather and you know, be able to take off and land on short runways. So this guy was a trainer. So he knew his stuff, but he still pulled out his checklist and went through it. And it just immediately made me think about your video. And you know, I wrote about it in my book as well, just how important it is that we as leaders have our own Leader Standard Work, you know, we\u2019re not above a pilot, a trainer who knows his stuff. And he\u2019s still using a checklist. What are your thoughts on that when it comes to?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, you know, I look at my phone right now. And I go to my to- do list and I have a checklist for tennis. So every morning I play tennis for two hours. Do I have everything on there money basting, I\u2019m allergic to be so I don\u2019t have my beating. I could die if I get bee sting sunglasses, hat balls, and coffee water. Rack eyedrops off for mosquitoes. I go through my checklist every day, when I\u2019m kitesurfing, I have a checklist. Are you kidding? I want to be successful. I don\u2019t like defects. I don\u2019t like reworking. I don\u2019t want to be injured. I mean, and, and yet, you know what you said he was a very competent person using a trainer Well, I\u2019m a trainer, I\u2019m a pretty competent person to write. But I\u2019m humble enough to know that we\u2019re human, and we make mistakes and good processes protect you. So you can have a full life and not an abbreviated one because of your stupidity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s so true. And you know, a lot of a lot of companies out there they, they hope that they\u2019re going to get the culture that they want they they wish that it will happen, you know, and in reality, if they if they know the behaviors that are going to give them a continuous improvement culture, why would they not want to make sure that those behaviors are happening not only for their their themselves, but for all the leaders in the organization. And that\u2019s really the power of Leader Standard Work is making sure that you have the behaviors and the actions that are going to give you the results that you\u2019re looking for?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, I think you asked a good question, why don\u2019t they do that? Well, number one, you have to stop in order to do my little checklist for tennis, I had to stop, take five minutes, go through it. And every day, I have to stop and take 10 seconds and look at it. And some people don\u2019t want that interruption to their creativity or to their flow in life. And they don\u2019t understand that when they miss one of these the disruption is 10 times more than stopping to just quickly go through this every morning before I walk out the door. So true. It\u2019s a lack. It\u2019s both an intense ignorance on how the laws of nature work and what\u2019s really going on in the universe. And it\u2019s coupled with pride. It\u2019s coupled with ego and I know better. I\u2019m smart enough to manage this. Absolutely. That\u2019s what I think I agree with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s what I\u2019ve seen as well for anyone that\u2019s listening that\u2019s maybe new to lean, you know, they\u2019re maybe just starting their journey or this is the first time they\u2019re hearing about Lean possibly. What advice would you give to a new person who\u2019s just just starting their journey?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let me think how I would frame that. What advice would I give to somebody lean and they\u2019re gonna start their journey? They\u2019re committed, they\u2019re committed to starting the journey.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I think if they\u2019re, if they\u2019re listening to this podcast, they\u2019re probably they\u2019ve either been recommended or or maybe they just started their Lean journey. They, you know, understand the power, the benefits they\u2019ve heard somebody told them about it, you know, the the results that they found applying lean, and so yeah, I would say they\u2019re, they\u2019re committed and they\u2019re looking for What\u2019s my, what\u2019s my first step? Or what\u2019s my next step?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Okay? Lean is simple. All we\u2019re doing is eliminating the waste in the hundreds of processes that you\u2019re doing every day, whether it be making your lunch, collecting information for someone cleaning your toilet, making an appointment to go to the dentist, I don\u2019t care what it is, everything is a process. You say, I gotta call my doctor, what\u2019s the process, you pull it up, you look for the phones or your things. all your contacts are kind of organized under doctor first so you can scroll through all your doctors. And then you call what is the process, there\u2019s a process for everything you do. All we\u2019re doing, and all you\u2019re trying to do is take those processes and take away the waste, the wasted motion, the defects, the rework, the eight ways you\u2019re trying to do that, and then realize that this is a lifelong journey. Nothing is ever perfect. It\u2019s a giant game. And if you approach lean from the standpoint, that number one, it\u2019s every day number two, it\u2019s a game. Number three, Nothing\u2019s ever perfect. Number four, everything can be improved continuously, you\u2019re going to win, you\u2019re going to win. But if you ignore any one of those points that I just made, you\u2019re going to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s right. And I also have seen people that feel like they need to spend, you know, hours weeks learning understanding before they take any step at all and older<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>debt. Balderdash. Yeah. Absolute nonsense. Start today, right now fix what bugs you, anything that bothers you, stop, spend 1015 minutes, run an experiment, see whether or not it works, try to improve it. Or it\u2019s not about getting it perfect. It\u2019s about learning. We\u2019re creating a learning organization. When you do something that fails, you learn Henry Ford Edison, I could go right on down the list. All they did was run experiments all day long. Look at what they did. They changed the world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Exactly. And I love it. And I so much appreciate you taking the time to, to chat with, with myself and with the audience today. If anybody\u2019s interested to grab your book two second lean, I believe they can just go read an Amazon search two second lean or or go right to I believe it\u2019s on your website as well. Correct?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, it\u2019s even easier than that, Patrick. I mean, yes, it\u2019s available everywhere. It\u2019s a 19 languages. Now. It\u2019s insane. I think it\u2019s printed in like nine languages. But here\u2019s what you do, you can get if you buy five copies or more, they\u2019re only like five bucks apiece from us. We sell them basically for cost ridiculous just in 15 $16 book, you can get it for five bucks apiece, we have companies by hundreds all the time. But you don\u2019t need to spend a penny because I don\u2019t want your money. I have an app, I just spent $50,000. Wow, it has all my books in nine languages. It\u2019s better than audible. It\u2019s better than a book than the app that Amazon produce. Just go to lean play two second lean play, go to the Google Store wherever download it for free. Click on the language you want to listen to it, whether it be Russian, Vietnamese, you know, Portuguese, Portuguese, Abel, they\u2019re all They\u2019re all there. And just start listening right now you have to spend a dime, and then you can pass it on to everyone. If you have a question. There\u2019s a chat button, you can actually press a button and ask me a question live.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wow. I love that. That was one of the things that I appreciated when I listened to your book was that you gave your direct email, call me text or email me? You know, whatever. If you have a question or anything, I\u2019ll help, you know, direct you to the right answer. So well, that\u2019s amazing. Well, we\u2019ll put a link to that app in the show notes so that if anybody\u2019s listening and they would like to download that app, you can go right to the show notes and download it directly there. That\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No problem. Yeah, we made it deliberately for the shop for people so that the average person had no excuse. I don\u2019t have money. I don\u2019t have anything. It\u2019s all free. Just download it. Listen to your work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love it. That\u2019s great. Any closing words for the listeners, Paul on anything at all, obviously, the other thing that will drop into the the show notes is your web address to FastCap too because you guys have some amazing Lean tools that are available for purchase through the company there as well. So we\u2019ll drop that in the show notes. But any closing remarks for anyone that\u2019s listening, you know, any motivational words or any words of wisdom that you\u2019d like to deliver to the audience?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, for those of you that are listening, that have the courage to stop doing it the way you\u2019ve been doing it and embark on this new journey, get ready, because you\u2019re about ready to have the most joyous fulfilled life you could ever imagine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love it. So true as well. So true. Thank you, Paul, so much appreciate what you\u2019re doing all around the world for the Lean community. And you know, for anyone out there that\u2019s just looking to improve their lives, their personal lives, their work lives. I so much appreciate the work that you\u2019re doing. And I really look up to you as an inspiration for myself and my own learning as well. So thank you so much for coming in.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Akers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My pleasure. My pleasure, Patrick. Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Patrick Adams\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All right. Take care, Paul. Okay. Bye bye. Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the lean solutions podcast. If you haven\u2019t done so already, please be sure to subscribe. This way you\u2019ll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined. Please give us a review. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Due to my travel schedule this week, I wanted to share a throwback to a conversation I had with Paul Akers this past year. Paul is an author, entrepreneur and the founder and president of FastCap, a product development company specializing in woodworking tools and hardware for the professional builder. In this episode, Paul and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preferred.findleansolutions.com\/my-dashboard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}