About the author
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 developed his first product... the FastCap. His company now has thousands of distributors worldwide in over 40 countries. Paul's intense passion for improvement paved the way for hundreds of inventions. FastCap launches approximately 20-30 innovative products per year and has won Business of the Year twice. 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. The 3rd edition was launched on the first day of 2014. It won the prestigious Research and Professional Publication Award from The Shingo Institute. In 2015, he wrote his 2nd book, Lean Health, followed by Lean Travel in 2016. Lean Life then came in 2019 and Banish Sloppiness in 2020. His latest book, Impact of 2 Second Lean, comes full circle by sharing how his concept of simple daily 2-second improvements has multiplied to millions of hours saved as it has transformed businesses around the globe now for a decade.
He first learned to embrace adventure and pursue excellence from his father. That resulted in earning the rank of Eagle Scout at the young age of 14. At 15, Paul built a guitar in high school woodshop and captured the attention of Bob Taylor, founder of Taylor Guitars. Bob put Paul to work the day he graduated from high school and mentored him, making a lasting impression as Paul watched Bob change the guitar industry right in front of his eyes. Paul graduated from Biola University in 1983 with honors. He then worked in Pasadena, restoring some of the most prestigious historical homes and became part of an exclusive group of craftsmen that built the home for the editor of Architectural Digest.
His carpentry handiwork catapulted him into a whole new business venture when his knack for problem-solving led to an invention that revolutionized the woodworking world. Through a series of twists and turns, he discovered Lean and the Toyota Production System (TPS). This propelled FastCap toward the Lean manufacturing culture that is now followed by thousands of companies globally. In 2010, Paul ran for the US Senate in Washington State on a Lean platform of transforming government by empowering people. After the election, Paul continued to work with various government agencies teaching Lean thinking and helping them create a Lean culture in government organizations internationally. In 2013, Paul was invited to do a TEDx talk on innovation. In 2017, Paul was selected as the world's #3 Thought Leader & Influencer in The Global State of Operational Excellence, Critical Challenges & Future Trends publication.
Paul is an avid outdoorsman who surfs, runs, swims, bikes and has summited many mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro, and trekking to Everest Base Camp. Paul is passionate about health and competed in 2 Ironman competitions. He is an energetic speaker whose core passion is helping people discover their full potential and showing others how to implement Lean in their business and personal life. Paul's passion for Lean has taken him worldwide to over 102 countries to work and speak with notable organizations such as the Israeli Defense Forces, Mercedes Benz, Amazon, the US Navy, Turner Construction, and many universities. He also guides business leaders through some of the world's most notorious lean companies in one of the world's most lean countries on his Japan Study Missions. He has trained over 30 teams in Japan at Toyota and their partners. Paul has been married to his wife Leanne since 1983 and they have 2 grown children, Andréa and Kolbe who work with him at FastCap. It is truly a family-run business.