Gold Coast Football Club CEO, Travis Auld says early definition of the club’s values is crucial to the organisation’s development.

Auld says the club has already invested a great deal of time in gaining a thorough insight into what will shape the club’s culture.

‘My view is that what separates the great clubs from the average clubs is culture,’ he says. ‘We are in the earliest stages of our life as a club and that gives us a rare opportunity to have a significant influence on what our culture will be.’

He says an off-season think tank involving local media, sponsors, players and club staff helped the club narrow the club’s vision for itself down to five key words - bold, relentless, community, fresh and dependable.

‘These values encapsulate what we want people to think of us. They give us a guide to live by as a football club.’

Auld acknowledges that coming up with the words was the easy bit.

‘I’m under no illusion. Living these values day in day out is more of a challenge. But so far, so good.’

‘We want to be measured by the little things we do. We want people to see us in that light. That’s how we’ll convince fans to let us into their houses and their lives. That’s why it’s so important to properly define ourselves before we move on.’