IE Masters in Finance fall 2015 #IEBusinessSchool

1. PLAY HARD or GO HOME…
BASKETBALL
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.

2. About Me:
• I first developed the passion for the game of
Basketball when I visited USA at the age of
13. I had the opportunity to witness Miami
Heat and LA Lakers play. There on I started
following the sport relentlessly.
• Despite the 10 hour time difference, I made
it a point to watch my favorite team play live
at 6 am before school. My commitment to
learning the skills lead me to stay back after
school to observe our basketball team
practice.
• My dedication and hard work helped me get
selected for my high school basketball team.
I had the privilege to play with and compete
against some of the best players in the
state. It was a surreal feeling to play for one
of the top 5 teams in the state.
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Mihir Bhalla

3. How does playing
Basketball
contribute to my
personal and
professional
development?
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.

4. Personal Development
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.

5. Personal Development
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
1. Concentration & Self Discipline- Similar to
every sport, developing basketball skills
requires relentless hard work, concentration
and self discipline. Morning workout and
evening drills developed in me a sense of
discipline, uncanny focus towards
succeeding. Playing in tournaments
developed my competitive spirit and taught
me sportsmanship.
1. Improve Balance and Co-ordination-
Basketball is a fast pace game that requires
shooting, passing, dribbling, defense,
rebounding and much more. It helped me
improve my posture, increased muscle
strength and speed, sharpened reflexes,
expanded flexibility and strengthen my core.

6. Personal Development
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
3. Social Skills- Basketball taught me how to
bring people together, make new friends,
create new bonds and allowed me to play
with diverse group of people. Basketball
helped me develop networking skills by
making me outgoing and social.
3. Innovation: On the court basketball forced
me to think outside the box and be
innovative. To out think the opponent was a
necessary skill, if we had to win in a
competitive tournament. For the ball to
reach the basket, I had to practice and
develop various innovative moves and tricks.

7. Professional Development
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.

8. 1. Teamwork
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Team Work is the beauty of basketball wherein
five people work as one.
Playing basketball since school has taught me to
put the needs of my team before my individual
needs. In every league or organization, teamwork
is essential to achieve a collective goal. In the
absence of which; coaches, team leaders and
managers become handicapped and the
motivation to win is lost.
Basketball has taught me to embrace and accept
people with all their strengths and weaknesses
and fill the void for each others shortcomings.
It has helped to develop flexibility to adapt and
reach common grounds with my team members
while dealing with individuals from multi
cultural backgrounds at my organization.

9. 2.Resilience:
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Like every top player, I have had my
share of bad days when our team
lost games due to my lack of
performance. But that never
stopped me from believing in my self
and to keep working towards getting
better. Similarly in my professional
life there will be moments where I
may have to taste failure and gather
myself up. Basketball has taught
me to be resilient and learn from my
failures and get back stronger in the
game of life.

10. 3. Strategic Thinking:
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Every game of basketball is incomplete without
strategy. A strategy against the opponents
strengths and weaknesses, a strategy to
position the team on the basis of the players
strengths. Every time out and a half time
brings in new strategies for good defense and
offence which teaches to adapt to sudden
changes.
My Professional environment requires me to
formulate various corporate finance strategies
to be used to value companies during fund
raising, developing pitch books, strategizing
M&A deals, adapt to sudden changes in
negotiations and so on. Basketball has helped
me to be a strategic thinker where every aspect
of business is critically thought about.
Strategic thinking in professional life is
important to design a flowchart and a process
aimed at achieving the end result.

11. 4. Co-ordination:
IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Co-ordination in basketball is a continuous
activity that integrates group effort and
unity of action. Basketball teaches you to
co-ordinate not only your body and mind
but also your every move in tandem with the
flow and the movement of each team
member.
Professionally this has helped me to co-
ordinate well with my team members and
other office colleagues even in the time of
extreme pressure.

12. IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
Basketball…as a way of life…
I no longer play basketball
professionally, but I engage in
the sport regularly with my
former team mates.
Since 2006, I have been
working as an organizing
committee member for The All
India Basketball Tournament,
where the best men & women
teams compete with each other
at national level.

13. IE Business School. Masters in Finance.
Fall 2015.
The End…