Umar Ali Shaikh, CEO, Atos India, never misses an opportunity to watch his favourite football club, Liverpool FC, playing live whenever he is in the UK on a business trip. Back home, he makes sure he watches all the major football tournaments on the TV screen. His biggest learning from football is to never give up, no matter how bad the situation may be. "The most fundamental element of the game is to keep trying till the last whistle is blown. You may fall, but you have to get up and move on," says Shaikh.
The sport also teaches the spirit of team-work. "These are skills every professional needs to build. If something goes horribly wrong in a project that you are doing, you have to have the ability to rise from your failures, introspect, understand your competitors and come back stronger." While Shaikh is more of an arm-chair footballer, he often unwinds by playing squash. There are learnings in an individual sport too. "Squash is a 360-degree, high-intensity game and teaches me how to stay competitive inside a small enclosure. Above all, it helps me stay fit."