Quick answer: A performance coach should be able to point to specific, verifiable outcomes, not just testimonials about how a session felt. Real examples from Scott’s work include a high school varsity basketball program that had never made a state championship game reaching one within two years, and a mid-market growth firm shifting from reactionary management to systematic output over a 90-day consulting engagement.
What “Results” Should Actually Mean
A lot of performance coaching gets sold on how a session feels rather than what actually changed afterward. The real test isn’t whether a room felt energized. It’s whether something measurable moved once the coach was gone. That’s the bar I hold myself to, and it’s why the examples below are specific outcomes, not general impressions.
A Real Athletic Result
I was once asked to help a high school varsity boys basketball program that had never made it to a state championship game. On day one, I could tell the team didn’t actually believe it was possible. I worked to instill that belief, using the same diagnostic I use everywhere: is the gap Hard, Smart, or Consistent. Two years later, the team broke every school record and made it to the state championship game.
A Real Consulting Result
In a separate engagement with a mid-market growth firm, I encountered a team with real talent but no alignment, what I’d call strategic drift. By installing the EFFORT Framework over a period of 90 days, the culture shifted from reactionary management to systematic output. I didn’t recruit better people. I improved the architecture of the people already in the room. Full breakdown of what that kind of engagement includes on the Performance Consulting page.
What to Ask Any Performance Coach About Results
Ask for a specific example, not a general claim. “We got great feedback” is not a result. “This team broke every school record and made a state championship game two years after we started” is. If a coach can’t point to something concrete and specific, that’s worth noticing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What results has Scott Fishman’s coaching produced?
Two documented examples include a high school varsity basketball program reaching its first state championship game within two years, and a mid-market growth firm shifting from reactionary management to systematic output over a 90-day consulting engagement.
How do you measure results from performance coaching?
By whether something specific and measurable changed after the engagement, a record broken, a championship reached, a culture shift that held, not by how a single session felt in the room.
What should I ask a performance coach before hiring them?
Ask for a specific, verifiable example of an outcome they produced, not a general testimonial. A coach with real results can point to something concrete.
Related Reading
Performance Consulting
Speaking
The EFFORT Framework: The Complete Guide to Hard, Smart, Consistent
About Scott Fishman