Leaders model safe-to-fail cultures

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Dr. Melisa Buie is a problem solver, author, and operational excellence leader known for making complex systems work better. Her work spans advanced technologies such as lasers and semiconductor equipment, as well as large-scale global manufacturing and business systems.

Melisa’s career sits at the intersection of engineering innovation and operational performance. She has held key roles with leading organizations in the semiconductor and photonics industries, including Lam Research, Coherent, Applied Materials, and Advanced Energy. As Global Director for Lean Operational Excellence at Coherent, Inc., a $2B global photonics solutions company, she led initiatives that advanced both engineering performance and enterprise-wide transformation. Earlier in her career, she served as a Member of the Technical Staff and Engineering Manager at Applied Materials and Advanced Energy, and as a Research Scientist with Science Applications International Corporation at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., where she focused on theoretical laser systems.

In addition to her industry leadership, Melisa is an author and educator. She wrote Problem Solving for New Engineers: What Every Engineering Manager Wants You to Know in 2017, drawing on her experience bridging industry and academia. She also taught graduate-level courses for nearly a decade at San Jose State University in the Department of Biomedical, Chemical, and Materials Engineering, where she helped develop the next generation of engineering leaders and problem solvers.

A Few Quotes From This Episode

• “If it’s safe to fail, then it’s safe to learn and grow.” 
• “Experimentation is something that leads to a lot of failure.” 
• “Part of the reason we don’t like failing is because of all the emotions that come with it.” 
• “You’ve got to separate the story you make up about the failure.” 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode 

• Book: Faceplant: Free Yourself From Failure's Funk by Buie and colleagues
• Book: Problem Solving for New Engineers: What Every Engineering Manager Wants You to Know by Buie

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

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• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can

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