Episode 5: A conversation with Mike Geddes

In Connecting with Purpose Episode 5, we host Mike Geddes Chief Purpose Officer for the USA’s first professional sports team to be founded on purpose – the Oakland Roots Soccer Club. Don’t miss this conversation. Mike provides so many practical insights as to how the club have embedded purpose at the core of everything they do, from purpose driven stakeholders experiences, to departmental cohesion, commercial strategy and metrics. Most importantly, demonstrating care for their community who then in turn care for the team.

Mike’s Bio:

Mike is the co-founder and Chief Purpose Officer of Oakland Roots, the United States’ first Purpose-driven pro sports team and is one of the world’s leading experts in the field of Purpose-driven sports. A former BBC soccer reporter, he joined the global non-profit organization streetfootballworld in 2008, spending three years in Africa working on the social legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is the co-founder of the third half, a Purpose-driven, sports adventure travel company and in his spare time he works with an organization using soccer to help keep kids safe from landmines in conflict zones like Colombia and Iraq.

Segments / Notes to episode:

1:55 Magic Moments

• “Awakening / lightbulb” to power of soccer as a social phenomenon

• “Milestone” Re: Soccer World Cup Legacy Program in South Africa

• “Bums on Seats”

10:40 How they integrated purpose at the core from the start 

13:30 Embracing the community, sharing the purpose and building a community that cares

15:00 Local partnerships and local engagement- “it looked like Oakland”

16:55 Role Sports team has to play in the community

18:00 Getting it right in the best and worst place for what they are trying to do

20:00 Authenticity is #1 thing the fans want from their team

21:30 diverse feedback from the community informed the purpose, values, operations and even on field system of play

25:00 Purpose architecture: how have they embedded Purpose throughout the organizational system- what worked, what didn’t 

29:45 Commercial strategy redesigned and reimagined to embrace Purpose

32:00 1st US Club to join “Common Goal” movement – a global fund for social good and established “Anti Racist Project”

37:10 how do you measure this stuff?

44:45 what’s the difference between social impact, community and purpose

46:30 stakeholder experience starts with game day welcoming everyone and reflecting local interests, then doubled down on community during pandemic 

54:00 PurposeFused Formula: 

• Passion: for humanity

• Application: contribute where it matters most

• Impact: a better, more equitable world