My guest for Episode #531 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Dr. Melisa Buie, a seasoned operations and engineering leader with decades of experience in high-tech manufacturing.

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Melisa has held senior roles at companies like Lam Research, Applied Materials, and Coherent, where she led large-scale Lean transformations and helped drive cultural change across global operations. With a PhD in nuclear engineering and plasma physics, Melisa brings a rare combination of technical depth and people-centered leadership to her work.

In this episode, we explore Melisa’s Lean journey — from her early days in Six Sigma to becoming a global Lean leader at Coherent. She shares how her perspective shifted from project-based improvement to empowering teams with daily problem-solving skills. Melisa discusses the critical role of psychological safety in building a continuous improvement culture, and how giving people "permission to improve" must be backed by leadership behavior and support. We also touch on the challenges of applying Lean principles in complex, low-volume/high-mix manufacturing environments and why principles still matter more than tools.

We also discuss Melisa’s book Problem Solving for New Engineers, written to bridge the gap between academic preparation and the real-world challenges engineers face in industry. She previews her upcoming book, Faceplant: Free Yourself from Failure’s Funk, which tackles the emotional side of failure and how we can grow through it. Whether you're a Lean leader, a coach, or an engineer just starting out, this episode is packed with valuable insights on leadership, learning, and making improvement accessible for everyone.

• How did you first get involved with Lean or Six Sigma?
• Which books influenced you early in your Lean journey?
• How did your company shift from project-based Six Sigma to a Lean culture?
• Where did the push for culture change come from—top-down or grassroots?
• What role did you play in leading Lean at Coherent?
• What does it mean to “give people permission to improve,” and why is that necessary?
• How do leaders create psychological safety to support continuous improvement?
• How did your background in nuclear engineering and plasma physics lead to a career in semiconductors and lasers?
• How do Lean principles apply in low-volume, high-mix environments?
• What inspired you to write Problem Solving for New Engineers?
• How does the book help bridge the gap between university labs and industry problem solving?
• Why is experimentation and scientific thinking often missing in workplace culture?
• How do you explain the value of iterative cycles like PDSA to new engineers?
• What is design of experiments (DOE), and how does it improve problem solving?
• When is it helpful to let people run experiments with predictable outcomes?
• How did your second book, Faceplant: Free Yourself from Failure’s Funk, come about?
• Why do people fear failure in personal life but accept it in professional settings?
• How can we reframe failure as a learning opportunity rather than something to avoid?
• How do you personally deal with failure and setbacks, like learning a foreign language?

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.

My guest for Episode #530 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Ken Segel, Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Officer at Value Capture.

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With over two decades of experience in healthcare improvement, Ken has been instrumental in guiding Value Capture's mission: helping healthcare organizations pursue habitual excellence by applying principles of safety, transparency, and systems thinking. In this episode, Ken shares lessons drawn from his unique and non-traditional journey--from public policy work in Washington, D.C. to transformative partnerships with industry icon Paul O'Neill and the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative.

Ken and I explore why world-class safety, quality, and financial performance can and must co-exist, and how starting with safety unlocks powerful learning across any organization. He reflects on how Paul O'Neill inspired leaders to set seemingly audacious goals like "zero harm"--not to punish failure, but to align people around shared purpose and continuous improvement. We also discuss the importance of creating a comprehensive operating system, one that fully integrates work systems, management systems, and improvement systems--not just Lean tools or events in isolation.

Listeners will learn why Ken believes deeply in the Shingo Principles, and why Value Capture remains the only Shingo Affiliate firm dedicated exclusively to healthcare. He also talks about the recent leadership transition at Value Capture, passing the CEO baton to longtime colleague Shanna Padgett. Whether you're a Lean healthcare leader or someone passionate about values-based leadership, this conversation offers rich insights into guiding with purpose, learning from failure, and building systems that support excellence for all.

Ken previously appeared on My Favorite Mistake (Episode 147), where he shared a powerful story about early-career lessons in leadership and systems thinking that helped shape his path into healthcare improvement.

• Can you share your Lean origin story?
• (How did your unconventional path lead you into this work?)
• What was it like working with Paul O'Neill, and how did he influence your thinking?
• What was the vision and impact of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative?
• Why was setting a goal of zero harm so controversial--and so powerful?
• How did leaders like Dr. Richard Shannon apply these principles to dramatically improve patient safety?
• Where do you see progress--and continued challenges--around transparency and safety sharing in healthcare?
• Why is safety such an effective entry point for broader transformation?
• How do you define a "comprehensive operating system" in a healthcare context?
• What's the difference between a management system and a full operating system?
• How can the Shingo principles support healthcare organizations on their improvement journey?
• What does it mean for Value Capture to be a Shingo Affiliate focused solely on healthcare?
• What advice would you give to a health system leader who thinks they already have a Lean system in place?
• Can you share the recent leadership transition news at Value Capture?

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.

My guest for Episode #529 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Scott Gauvin, CEO of Macresco and co-creator of the Respect for People Roadmap.

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With 30 years of experience leading operational transformations across sectors including biotech, pharma, agriculture, and manufacturing, Scott brings both a systems mindset and a people-first philosophy to his work. His journey into Lean began with frustration over leadership that blamed people rather than fixing systems—sparking a personal quest to better integrate continuous improvement with what he calls the “practice” of respect for people.

In this episode, Scott shares the evolution of his thinking and how it culminated in the Respect for People Roadmap, a structured learning experience designed to operationalize cultural change through nine actionable behaviors. We explore the difference between “respecting people” as an individual action and “respect for people” as a system-level design principle. Scott also challenges the common notion that respect must be earned, arguing instead that every human being is inherently worthy of it—an idea rooted in his research on Confucian influences within Toyota’s founding culture.

This conversation is a must-listen for anyone struggling to move beyond Lean tools and truly build a culture of continuous improvement grounded in human dignity. We also touch on how these ideas align with the Shingo Model, why so many transformations fail to stick, and how organizations can design systems that scale respect—without waiting for permission from the top. Check the links below to learn more and access Scott’s free “test drive” version of the Roadmap.

• What’s your origin story with Lean and operational excellence?
• What drew you to explore the “respect for people” pillar more deeply?
• How do you distinguish between “respect for people” and “respecting people”?
• Why do so many interpretations of “respect” default to hierarchy or politeness?
• How should leaders approach differences in how individuals define respect?
• Is it a mistake to assume respect must be earned rather than given?
• What are your thoughts on the phrase “better to be respected than liked”?
• How do challenge, kaizen, and respect interrelate in Toyota thinking?
• What did your research uncover about Confucianism’s influence on Lean?
• How does the concept of “respect for people” show up in system design?
• What inspired the creation of the Respect for People Roadmap?
• What are the three key behavioral principles embedded in the Roadmap?
• What makes this program scalable and sustainable across organizations?
• Why was it important that the nine behaviors require no leader permission?
• How do you respond to the idea that “respect for people” should be translated as “respect for humanity”?
• Are you looking to pilot the Roadmap in healthcare settings?
• What would transformation look like if it were truly resilient—not dependent on a single leader

This podcast is part of the #LeanCommunicators network.