How Jag Physical Therapy and Dan Built a 2,000 Person PT Company on One Question: What's Your Why?

In this episode, Will sits down with Dan, Vice President of clinical services, live at APTA CSM to talk about the leadership philosophy that built something rare in private practice, a company where people actually want to stay, grow, and build a future.

Dan shares how losing his father at 26 shaped everything about how he leads. How a second grade teacher taught him the power of memorization and names. Why he gives the book "I Love It Here" by Clint Pulver to every new clinic director. And how knowing the names of his employees' kids is not a nice extra. It is the whole strategy.

This is an episode about what happens when you build around people instead of process. And what it looks like when retention is not a metric but a reflection of a culture where every person feels genuinely seen.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Why knowing your team's why is the starting point for everything
• How JAG built programs like their 8 week new grad ramp by listening to what people actually needed
• The LinkedIn stat that says 88% of people leave a job because they could not see a future there, and how Dan flips that script from day one
• Why Dan still treats patients after all these years
• What it really means to build a company where people want to take your job

If you are a practice owner who is burned out or feeling like growth is just more weight on your shoulders, this one is for you.

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Transcript

Live From APTA CSM

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Willpower Podcast, live at APTA CSM. We're here with physical therapy leaders and practice owners from across the country, talking about where the industry is going and what it takes to grow in today's landscape. Today I'm joined by Dan Kane of JAG Physical Therapy, discussing how leading with purpose, knowing your team's why, building genuine relationships, and investing in people first is the blueprint for growing a thriving PT culture from the inside out. Let's get into it.

Rapid Fire And Culture Preview

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Welcome to Willpower. Let's start off with just a get to know you set of rapid-fire questions. Where's somewhere in the world that you've been that you loved, or somewhere you're excited to go one day?

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Yeah, so uh I'm a big Irish guy, so Ireland is uh near and dear to the heart. Family came from there. So uh still remember that trip in sixth grade when I went and excited this year, my cousin's getting married in Ireland, and I'm taking my two boys and wife for their first time to Ireland, so I'm very excited about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

That's wonderful news. Okay, next question. What is a book, movie, podcast, anything that you a TV show, anything that you've seen recently that that you loved?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yeah. Um Will Humphreys, uh Will Humphreys Podcast? Thank you. That was unsolicited. Uh Clint Pulver. Uh I love it here. Um uh it's a book? Yeah, it's a book.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Uh uh I love it here. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Um yeah, I love it here. Right, Mike? I love it here. Uh Clint Pulver. Um, so I actually give that book out to every new CD when they get promoted. Clinic Director. Yeah. And uh it's been inspirational. They all come back and I see it in action. But I met Clint at uh PPS uh in Dallas, I believe it was, and uh he was a fellow wrestler, had an inspirational story, and just a great presenter. So it was uh easy to fall in love with the book, fall in love with the topic, but it's all about making that culture in the clinic uh be inspirational and how you do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

I love that. Culture is a big part of our topic today as we're talking about personal purpose, and I'm very excited to get into that.

Family Influence And Lasting Purpose

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Right now, before we get into that, one more get to know you question is gonna be asked around your upbringing. Was there a parent or a grandparent that had a really loving and positive impact on you? And could you tell me what that was?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah, so um I've been blessed, I've had many. Um, I grew up living next to my grandparents. Um, so my my grandfather was very inspirational. You know, I'm the tail end of a millennial. Um uh and I but I associate with the other generations because of my grandfather being like a best friend, um, also my father. Um fortunately, I lost my father at 26. What I always say is I had 26 years with an amazing man that had his philosophies, his philosophy was live life to the fullest, um, because life is beautiful. And you know, 26 years I had with a a dad, and he told me so many life lessons. Um, and obviously my mother is just rocked, even after we've raised over a million dollars for Livoma Research Foundation in his honor. Um, because my dad always believed if you can't help me, help the next person. Um, so that's what he said to his top doctors. Wow, and we've been just living that purpose too uh for him. And yeah, very excited. You know, I don't brag a lot, but I'm very excited to brag about the million dollars raised by my dad's and we should because I think that inspires Dan.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

I think it helps us realize there's a bigger purpose as to what we're doing here. And as we become in the PTOT SLP space, I think we forget how much potential and power we have to make a difference in the lives of others. And it sounds like your father was incredibly passionate and very good. So uh uh apart from that, what was it that you loved about your dad?

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Um, you know, he was great with names. So he was a coach, a physical education teacher. Um, I remember being out in the community and he never missed someone's name. He knew what their family life was, he knew um, you know, that even as they grew up, you know, his students he would know their kids' names, follow them. We were a big wrestling family. Um, he would follow their kids in sports. And I think it was just to me, that's where um I'm just a social butterfly. And and uh, but the name is the most important thing to a person. And I in my clinician treating every day, I never forget uh retention is key to the to patients to get back the life they love, right? Yes, uh, you need them to be coming into the clinic, and that's one of my passions and strengths is knowing everything about that patient, not just their physical ailments, um, but knowing their life story. Absolutely. So it's been I I I love it. I I have a passion for for treating, um, and it's because I love helping people and and knowing their story and their why.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

So your dad taught you the importance of a name, which is a great start into the topic of purpose because the individual, the human behind every name has a purpose and a meaning in

Finding Each Team Member’s Why

SPEAKER_00 5:11

life. You are so passionate about helping people define their purpose. What we're why is that?

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah, so you know, I think everybody, you need to know your team's why, you know, like uh what is their why? Where do they want to be in five years? Where do they want to be tomorrow? And you know, when you sit down with them and know, you know, I'm talking personal, professional, um, even financially. I want to be able to help them in all those three phases. Yes. Um, but you have to start with having a sit-down like this and telling about stuff. So even when I have a new PT start, I go to that clinic and I get to know them. And I ask them the question, what is your why? You know, kind of what is your purpose? And you know, you build that bond, you learn about their kids. Um, and it's again reflecting all the way back. You learn about their um, like my dad did, right? We reflect back to my dad, you know what their kids played. They're uh Johnny's playing basketball this weekend. Oh, and then I follow up on Monday. How did Johnny do? Like I'll text them. Yeah. You know, I I've been blessed with a great memory, and I I attribute that to my second grade teacher, Mrs. Santelli. Every Friday, if you've memorized a poem and set it in front of the class, you would get um extra credit. Well, what did it teach me? It memorization is important, right? And you have that's where my name skills come from, but public speaking, you know, and I I love uh, you know, to to talk, but it's you don't know someone if you don't talk to yeah, and so and you help these people in your company.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

You're known as the guy that helps build purpose within these clinicians in your company because you want to know you said the team, so you meant every soul that works for you, you get to know their purpose. How do you that's very nice, but uh I don't you yeah, me too got you credit. Yeah, very humble, very humble, Dan. But this is literally how it works. I I'm amazed at how you do this. I would like to know how. How do you go? How do you work with somebody personally? Like let's say someone's new to JAG, your company, and they come in and you're and they're wanting to like be a PT or whatever. How do you first start by defining their purpose? How what do you even do to help them determine that?

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah, I think it goes back to you know, sitting with them, right? And having those talks. But once I find out what they want to do, I never forget and I help and coach them along the way. Obviously, I have clinical directors, area directors, regional directors, but I make sure communication is the key, right? So you're communicating to find what their why is. But then and you just ask them?

Mentorship Structure And Goal Timeframes

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Yeah. Yeah, I just uh uh I sit down and I'll sometimes it's the first day, sometimes it's the first week because I'll check in. How's it going? What can I help you with? Where what is going good? What is what what do we need to improve on as a team to help you and support you? We have an amazing mentorship program where every um new grads, when they start with us, have an eight-week um new grad ramp, right? So they're not getting thrown to the wolves, right? VPS up to Wazoo. Um we sit with a mentor for a half hour every week and and go over questions as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

So that's and then that helps them in the real time solve their real-time focus. Because without the mentorship, they must be scared, confused, all those elements. You also come in and ask them what their purpose is.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

Like that's just uh on top of that of what I what I do. So um, and it's like, so how I do it is what's your long-term goals, what's your short term goals? And I could say, you know, long-term could be five years, long-term could be three, and like a three-one split. What do you want to uh uh in improve in the next uh few months? So yeah, I just I just vibe with having a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

On the future and my experience, and I wonder what yours is, Dan, is I've tried to determine five-year plans with new employees. I learned most of the time they don't know what they want.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

Yeah, is that true for you as well? Yeah, and I think that's where I pivot and say, all right, in three years, what type of certifications do you want to get? Um, what what type of um things do you want to learn manually? How can I help you exercise progression, whatever it is? So I'm good at pivoting. I guess uh, you know, of if they're like, oh Dan, I I just started, I'm just trying to wrap it. It's like, okay, but all right, let's go shorter term how three months, right? Because if you don't put time frames on something, um, I think that a goal can't be attainable, right? Yeah, it's qualitative, quantitative, you know, numbers that you need.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

So powerful. You know, it's interesting because uh LinkedIn did a study and it showed that 88% of people who leave their job is because they cited they didn't see a future in the company. So when you start with a new grad or a new employee and you start talking about the future, it feels like you're doing it just because it's the right thing to do. Yeah. But it is helping them have a future, it's starting to get them to visualize a future that you're helping them see. So it automatically includes your company Jag in the mix.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yeah, and honestly, you hit the nail on the head there,

Building Career Paths Around People

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Will. Um, we've been very fortunate to hire great people, but I do think that it's also giving them that structure and showing hey, a clinical director, do you want to be a clinical director? Do you want to be an advanced clinician? We have advanced clinician pathway. Do you want to go into a specialty? We have this specialty, you know. We have the three residency programs, right? So there's all different avenues. But guess what? We created those. So by finding people's purpose, right? So all those were developed. Our mentorship.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

You built your company around the purposes of the people that you were finding. I hope every rock star is listening to that because when we talk about growth, entrepreneurs tend to get very like, you know, flashlight, you know, squirrely looking at the next thing. And really what you do is you build around the who, not the how. So you're talking about what do you want? And they started you started collecting data and remembering, and then you start going, well, let's build around that since that's going to help satisfy the purpose of so many people.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

I've had people say, Dan, I want to open up a clinic in Wool, New Jersey, because that's where I live. And I'm commit committed to that community. We're all about the community, first and foremost. That's where a lot of our success is. Giving back to the community, whether it's at pro bono events, doing screenings, you know, that's that's our uh philanthropic purpose. Yes, right.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

You put that, you build that who the who with their purpose in a community that starts influencing so many of those.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

But I open Clinics, we open Clinics uh because it's all about the we at Jag in communities that they might want to live in, right? And so we but that might be a two to three year plan, but I know we're at the future, but it's all it all starts with communication. It's it's easy. I know it's it'll be it is for you.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

I will say this. I the second I met you, instantly liked you. Like and I and I'm I'm I'm I tend to like people pretty quickly, but you're impossible because of that energy. Is is that coming from your dad as well?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Um, yeah, I think it don't make me cry here, but yeah, I think it um it's it's passion and heart. And what I always say is you can't teach it, but you can find it in people. Um, and I think that everybody has passion deep down inside. They have a verbis, and I um I definitely believe that. Um, but it all starts with communication.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

It all starts with a song communication. You even talk about remembering. I mean, these are very seemingly subtle and for some maybe even obvious, but who does it? Like we talk about good communication focused on the future and then remembering because we care their name, their purpose, their vision, and then we talk about it on repeat, and then you throw in programs like your great mentorship program. You're not you're not finding jobs for people, you're building a future, is what it sounds like. Why do you get so much energy from it though? Dan, I'm curious. Like, firstly, I can see you light up when you talk about like, oh, dude, this is how I get the purse, the purpose, and this is where we build around their the collective, yeah. But why do you care so much about that?

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Because, you know, get back the life you love, right? That's our motto. We treat everybody like your mom, your dad, uh, your mom, dad, grandfather, brother, sister, you know. So that when you see people from treating go from A to B and get, you know, like specific to their goals, what do they want to do in life? And you see that successful, well, guess what? We do that for the patients. Yeah. And it's the same thing, same mentality for our employees. And, you know, the we grew to 170 just be it wasn't planned. It's just we want to give opportunities to to people.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

And you know, so about 170 locations, but how many employees do you guys have?

SPEAKER_01 13:42

Uh so we're over 2,000. Come on. I have over 600 uh therapists, um, full-time therapists. So it's it's a blessed, it's beautiful, it's uh it's fun every day. I still treat, you know, that's the most important thing. We're a clinician-run company, very important. Um, to me and to John Gallucci, our CEO and founder. Um, it's all about treating people like for again, family and um just given opportunities. And I've been blessed, thank you, John, for to be in the position. But um, it's I want someone to be better than me. My goal is, you know, I have a few of my managing regional directors, my colleagues here. Um, I want them to take my job. That's why if you train, I ever I want everybody to be better than me. You know, uh that's I think what a leader needs to do. I think they need to listen to their team. Um, and it goes back to listening and getting that why out of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

It's interesting because um as someone who's never worked at JAG, and I I'm from the Southwest, okay, right? I was so excited to get you guys on the show because of what I've heard from the community. And I want you to think about this. This I think what inspires me as a PT practice owner is that I know what it's like to get started. You know, I ended up getting to four and then five locations briefly, and I was part of a bigger company team when I sold. But ultimately, to be completely privately owned and to be at your size for me is so beautiful because it shows what's possible to this next generation of students who are coming in. And I don't think it's different than what you're you're talking about when it comes to like purpose and passion and support and growth and

Retention At Scale Through Relationships

SPEAKER_00 15:19

challenge. As you guys continue to grow, how have you been able to the next question for me is because you guys are known for your retention. Yeah, how are you guys retaining when you have 2,000 employees? Like what what what would you say are some key elements to retain at scale, at that kind of size?

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah, I think it's structure and planning. I think we have supportive leadership. Like I said, we're in the clinics every day, we're still treating. We're all there's relationships with all of the leaders. Like I said, I know Mike's son, Michael. I know all I know we were on uh a FaceTime last night with saying goodnight to Michael. Uh you know, so it's like Michael's another person from Jack who's here right now. Yeah. Yeah. Uh Mike's one of my managing regionals that here, and his son is Michael. But and then he knows that you know, Danny and Mason, my son's, you know, soccer and baseball this weekend, you know. So it's it that's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

I'm amazed. I I think what touches me is this um we started with family, you know, at the beginning of this episode, and how when we think of family, there's family by birth and family by choice, how Jack has really become a family by choice where people have come and because they've been seen and heard and cared for, how they're able to see a future in it. And I want all the rock stars to really see this as a blueprint. It's all the same. I think if you're a small private practice owner and you're seeing this and you're feeling burned out, it's because you're not getting seen and heard. And I think that most PT owners, when they get to that burnout phase, they just want out. They want to sell, they want to leave, they want like they just never want to deal with the headaches. But the real thing is it's not a headache, it's an opportunity. And when we learn to do what you're talking about, and I'm hoping they'll hear this from a place of learning of it's okay, let's communicate, let's build their futures and build around their futures. Yeah, that everything starts to grow and then profitability hits as a result of great people being developed.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

And and that was the vision, you know. If you want to talk about visions, John Valucci and Rich Boedian, the founders of Jag, um they honestly did not want to sell, they wanted to keep us all together, and this was their keep the family connected, keep the family, you know, and and give us the opportunity because they and honestly, it's it's been a heck of a ride. It's been fun. Um, we're not done yet. You know, I I'm not done growing. I want to be better every day. Um, and I want like I said, I truly believe in making people uh better in at the clinic and honestly the uh my colleagues.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

It reminds me of a good coach. Going back to your dad, like it's so interesting how a good coach isn't about just making a team win. Yeah, it's about helping that individual become a better, successful leader in life. Yeah, and I think that you guys at Jed have such a strong presence in that way that it's known in our we're at CSM right now, there's 15,000 people here. It's talked about inspiring though, Will.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Yeah, right. I coming to PPS, coming to CSM, it's like the future's bright and it's gonna be beautiful because the energy of these students, it's it's great, it's fun. Um, but we're we're in good place as a uh uh PT family. And uh, as I always say, it's not about competitions, about helping everybody with the profession itself, right? You got into physical therapy because we wanted to help you, but we want to help each other. We're still all colleagues, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah, at the end of the day, there's no competitors. We're here to help grow the movement of helping people and suffering. Move forward, right? Move forward.

Hopeful Closing And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Yeah, Dan, I want to thank you for being one of the brightest like balls of light and energy I've ever had on the show, man. I want you to know you've been phenomenal. You're gonna hate this because you don't do well with compliments, but you truly have been like an inspiring you know person to meet in our short time. It's one of the reasons I love podcasting, is in the 30-minute period of time, I get to know you better than most people know people in hours. But even though I have really good at your job, too. I will tell you though, I get a sense, Dan. You connect like this wherever you are. So thank you for sharing this with my audience. It's gonna be a hopeful, you know, bright light for people who are in that stage of like, is the industry collapsing? No, it's brighter than ever. We're going strong. We've got great students, but we also have companies like Jag who have shown the way who are pioneering things and rippling those positive effects across the industry. So thank you so much for being on this show, Dan. Thank you, Will. You're the best. Okay, sure. Love and appreciate all you guys. Rockstars, thank you so much for joining me with Dan here from JAG at CSM. We've had such a phenomenal time meeting some of the most industry-leading, powerful individuals that we have had the privilege of meeting. So please, if you have any questions about JAG, if you'd like to meet Dan on any level, we'll put contact information in the show notes below. I encourage you to reach out if you feel any sort of like desire to connect so that you will move forward, so that you will make that effort, and so that you will also have that energy that Dan has. So, as always, thank you for tuning in. Remember, lead with love and never give up. Until next time.