Correct, here's a great explanation of how Lisks consensus mechanism differs from other cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin introduced Proof of Work (PoW) from which miners have to calculate a solution (hash) to a problem, wherein the more powerful the miner is the faster he can find that solution. The miner who finds the solution first, mines (generates) the block, and a specific amount of Bitcoin along with it. That means the miner has a financial incentive to be the fastest. Therefore, Bitcoin has an ongoing arms race to become the most powerful miner, leading to an ever increasing energy consumption of the whole network.
Nxt introduced Proof of Stake (PoS) which removed the mining element from the network, thus reducing the energy consumption dramatically. With Nxt, your stake, i.e. the amount of coins you own, determines your chance to forge (generate) the next block. Therefore, there is not an arms race as such, but rather an emphasis on increasing your NXT stake, in order to increase your forging chance. However, in comparison to Lisk, the Nxt forging rewards are negligible.
Lisk combines both worlds; the energy friendly Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm, with the competitive element of Proof of Work (PoW). Additionally, Lisk adds a community element of elected delegates to the consensus mechanism.
In case you're wondering where I got this explanation, it's from the Lisk Documentation. Link here:
https://lisk.io/documentation?i=lisk-handbooks/DelegateHandbook. There's a ton of great information there.
As for when forging begins, it's expected to start in early December.