For the past year, consultant Phil Reinke has been training our team of employees on the fundamentals of Six Sigma and process improvement. He has performed 30 years of successful organizational transformation from “ground up” and performance improvement in Fortune 100 companies. Phil is one of General Electric’s original 30 Six Sigma Master Blackbelts. He specifically led the transformation of GE Capital division which, to this day, is recognized as the pinnacle of process improvement deployments. Additionally, Phil is a published author, professor, and was honored as Educator of the Year in 2011-2012.
Thank you so much for taking the time to interview, Phil. Could you tell us a little bit about what you did before you began working with Synergy?
I have degrees in Philosophy, Psychology, Management and an MBA, so I guess you could call me a prolific student. I have worked in various management, quality and engineering capacities in the chemical, banking, food processing, auto manufacturing, credit, customer service, call centers, health care/hospitals, media, high-tech, and transportation industries. I have fully deployed Six Sigma programs across the Fortune 100, including the Fortune 5! I guess you could describe me as a philosopher first, an engineer second and a psychologist third. This leads to how I deploy continuous improvement across an organization…Mindset – Toolset – Behavior-set! I have taught philosophy and psychology at various universities and medical schools. I love seeing people learn and apply what they have learned, and that is probably why I received the “Educator of the Year” recognition. Given that history, about ten years ago I founded the Continuous Improvement Institute (www.thecii.com). We create custom programs that improve the performance of whatever organization we partner with.
How has that prepared you for your role as Synergy Billing’s Six Sigma consultant?
Although industries follow a basic set of processes, my background with similar functions along with the individuals on the Cii bench gives us a set of eyes that have seen success and the ability to apply those learnings directly into Synergy. Our organization is very client focused. So too is Synergy. It was that orientation which drew me into the organization. Working to improve billing performance for health care providers, which in turn improves the services to individuals, aligns perfectly with the Cii mission, and motivates us to see great things happen.
What made you decide to personally take on Synergy Billing as a client?
My personal mission and the mission of my organization is to constantly be in the process of “making significant, positive differences in the lives of individuals and the performance of organizations,” I immediately saw that Jayson and Synergy in its entirety was the same. It became a work of mutual focus and effort. Synergy’s emphasis on continuous improvement and customer driven quality is amazing and being able to take it to another level motivated me to push forward with the effort. It may not be apparent, but I normally assign a Cii individual to efforts like these, but I committed to this personally and am personally working to take Synergy to a new level of performance…that the clients feel!
What is your vision for Synergy Billing’s Six Sigma program?
I know that my vision for Continuous Improvement (Six Sigma is a part of it) is the same as Jayson’s, which is to have it be the “Mindset, Toolset and Behavior-set” of the organization. This means that it is a part of everyone and the way that we serve our clients. Continuous improvement changes lives…the lives of those who practice it and especially those who they impact. That being said, my vision is to see it as part of the DNA of every Synergist and apparent in their work.
Getting to know Phil…Where were you born? What do you do for fun?
I was born in Wisconsin and lived all over…but my two favorite places have been Ponte Vedra, Florida and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I do a lot of different things for recreation. I am a prolific trail and road bike rider. I also surf, kiteboard, set time aside each day to write (by the way, I have 5 different books on Amazon and Borders), and I watch sunrises on the beach and meditate.
