Andreas von der Heydt Coaching & Consulting

I’m the founder and managing director of AVDH Coaching & Consulting as well as a certified ICF professional coach (PCC) and Doctor of Education (EdD). My specialties are (1) Executive Coaching, (2) High-Quality Consulting; (3) Advisory Services (Board Memberships, etc.). I´ve been working with leading organizations around this beautiful world in the past 25+ years.

Founder & Managing Director

Tchibo

Leading Tchibo‘s international business as well as Tchibo’s global Digital & Online business (DACH and International) as a member of the executive board. In charge of strategic direction, management, and performance.

Member of the Executive Board - International Business, Digital & Online 

Chewy

Member of Chewy's Executive Leadership team. Business and P&L owner. Leading sales, category management, marketing, analytics as well as company-wide strategic initiatives. Key HR sponsor for DEI, recruiting, training & development.

Vice President Sales & Category Management

Amazon

Member of Amazon´s Global HR Leadership team. In charge of recruiting, talent development, and employer branding. Leading also key HR technology and product development projects. For the US and globally. Internal coach and think big mentor.

Director Talent Management & Development

Member of the Leadership Team. Business & P&L Owner. In charge of commercial, marketing, onsite management, analytics and other key functions.

Director & Country Manager Kindle Germany

Leading Amazon´s German shopping club and community with many millions of customers. In charge of all functions like sales, account & category management, marketing, finance, supply chain management, etc. European brand leader.

Managing Director Amazon BuyVIP Germany

L'Oréal

Member of the European Leadership Team. In charge of sales of 28 European countries: All commercial teams, category management, and trade marketing.

General Manager Sales Europe

Business and P&L owner. In charge of all key functions like marketing, sales, finance, etc. Leader European new skincare development and brands.

Managing Director Poland

Business and P&L owner. In charge of all key functions like marketing, sales, finance, etc.

General Manager New Zealand

Marketing Director Skincare Germany 

Sales Director Australia

Director Key Account Management Germany 

National Key Account Manager Germany 

REWE Group

Retail Project & Marketing Manager

Graduate Management Trainee Marketing

I’m the founder and managing director of AVDH Coaching & Consulting and a certified ICF PCC coach. I’ve trained and worked with leading coaches across Europe and the U.S. and was a co-founder of Amazon Germany’s Coaching Program as well as a founding member of L’Oréal’s Mentoring Program. I’m a Professional Fellow of the Institute of Coaching, Harvard Medical School, and was a member of the Forbes Coaching Council.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve helped numerous organizations and individuals globally achieve growth and success. As an Executive Coach, Consultant, and Scholar, I specialize in building high-performance, innovative, and entrepreneurial organizations and teams. I have authored various bestselling books & articles on leadership & coaching and conducted doctoral research work on organizational learning and coaching. My work is research-backed, personalized, strongly results-oriented, and measurable.

I also served as an executive board member at Tchibo, a leading European coffee manufacturer and omnichannel retailer, and held senior roles including Vice President at Chewy.com, Director of Talent & Leadership Development at Amazon, Director of Kindle, Managing Director of Amazon BuyVIP, and senior international positions at L’Oréal (General Manager Europe, etc.).

With extensive experience in executive management, HR, sales, and marketing, I’ve worked across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. I bring deep expertise in e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, and technology, along with a strong passion for leadership development. I advise CEOs and entrepreneurs, am a keynote speaker, and work as an executive coach with leaders worldwide. In my free time, I mentor underprivileged groups, driven by my belief in the potential of every individual to grow and succeed.

I hold degrees in management and economics from Ludwigshafen Business School (Germany) and have studied in Salamanca (Spain) and Nagoya (Japan). I earned a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in organizational leadership from Northeastern University (Boston, USA) and an MBA from Henley Business School (UK). A native German speaker, I’m fluent in English and also speak some French, Spanish, and Japanese. I love to learn, live, and support others to grow and succeed. 

More at https://andreasvonderheydt.com

The famous race between the speedy rabbit and the calm turtle.

Both stand in their lanes, ready to go. The rabbit explodes out of the start, races ahead, then keeps stopping, distracted and confident. The turtle moves slowly, almost boringly, but never stops.

In the end, the turtle crosses the line while the rabbit barely cares to finish.

The point is not that speed is bad. Not at all.

It is that speed without focus is wasted. 

The race is rarely won by the one who moves fastest, 
but by the one who keeps going, steady, committed, 
and unwilling to abandon the finish line for short-lived comfort.

Andreas von der Heydt

Executive Coach. Consultant. Senior Lecturer.

Every now and then there is a moment in life where it feels as if reality bends for a second. Roberto Carlos’ free kick against France in 1997 is one of those moments.

Thirty five meters out. An angle that looked completely unreasonable. The ball starting its flight well outside the posts before curving back in, kissing the inside of the post and leaving Fabien Barthez frozen. Later, physicists explained the Magnus effect and the trajectory. In the moment, it simply looked impossible.

For me, the real story is not the physics. It is the decision before the shot.

From that distance, most players would never even try. Too far. Too risky. Too visible if you fail. You pass, you chip the ball in, you play it safe. Carlos chose the improbable shot and accepted the very public risk of it looking ridiculous.

That is where this becomes a leadership story.

In our professional lives we often optimize for a clean track record instead of a larger playing field. We avoid the bold product bet because the ROI case is not perfect yet. We postpone the uncomfortable strategic move because it might fail visibly. We stay in the role we have outgrown because the next step is not guaranteed.

The courage to take the improbable shot is the courage to act when your analysis says “low probability” but your judgment says “this is the right kind of risk.” It is not about being reckless. It is about choosing a few meaningful moments where you are willing to trade certainty for the chance to redefine what is possible for you and for others watching.

After Carlos’ goal, that kind of free kick was no longer unthinkable. It had moved from “impossible” into the realm of “maybe”.

In your current work, where are you still playing only the safe passes?

Join my newsletter here on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/life-amplifier-6874170370488971264/

Andreas serves as a member of Tchibo's Executive Board, overseeing marketing, online, and the company's international business. Previously, he held the position of VP of Merchandising, Sales, and Marketing as part of the Senior Executive Team at Chewy. Prior, he spent several years at Amazon, where he led Talent Management in Seattle and served as the Director of Kindle and Managing Director of Amazon BuyVIP in Germany. Before joining Amazon, Andreas held the role of GM Sales Europe at L'Oréal in Paris, France, and served as the Country Manager in Poland. He also held various other senior leadership positions at L'Oréal globally. Earlier in his career, Andreas worked as a project manager at Rewe Group, one of Europe's leading retailers.

Andreas brings a diverse background in general management, sales, marketing, and HR, having worked across the US, Europe, and Australasia. He is particularly passionate about leadership and has extensive international experience in e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, and technology. Andreas dedicates a significant focus on supporting others in achieving success, utilizing his skills as a certified coach and master coach. He played a key role as a co-founder of Amazon´s in-house Coaching Program and was a founding member of L'Oréal's Mentoring Program in Germany. In his spare time, Andreas provides coaching & mentorship to members of underprivileged groups, driven by his belief that everyone possesses the resources necessary for growth and success.

Andreas pursued his studies in management & economics at Ludwigshafen Business School in Germany, as well as in Salamanca, Spain, and Nagoya, Japan. As a lifelong learner, he obtained an MBA from Henley Management School in the UK and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) from Northeastern University in Boston, USA, specializing in organizational leadership and development. He is a native German speaker and is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and has some knowledge of Japanese. Andreas recently authored a book on creating a Coaching Culture within organizations.

Disclaimer: All posts, comments, and content shared here reflect solely my personal opinion and are written and posted by me. I do not employ any agency or ghostwriter, nor do I promote services, products, or third parties in exchange for payment or fees. I have actively engaged on LinkedIn for over 12 years, and I continue to enjoy learning and sharing on this platform.

More at https://andreasvonderheydt.com

Leadership dialed down the boss.
AI dials up the introvert.

There was the BOSS in the old days: demand and command.
Then there came the LEADER: inspire, empower, and grow together.

There was the INTROVERT: quiet and working hard.
Then there came the INTROVERT & AI: calm, confident and heard.

Amazing how people have changed with the right tools.
To make a significant difference.

Not by being the loudest in the room.
But by being the smartest!

What if we let our happiness shine?
If we let our joy spill into the room and danced it into the world?

We were trained to be serious, composed, “professional”.

What if we sang more?
Danced more?
Played more?

Would life not become brighter, louder, a little more fun...

and, quite simply, better?

Especially now?!

“I don’t know” is a cognitive stop sign.
“I don’t know yet” is a green light for your brain.

That tiny word changes the assignment your brain receives. Instead of logging a deficit and protecting your ego, it opens a learning goal: search, test, connect, update. 

In neuroscience terms, you move from defending existing wiring to creating new pathways, which is exactly what neuroplasticity is about. 

Psychologists describe this as a growth mindset: seeing abilities as something you can develop through effort, feedback, and learning rather than as fixed traits you either have or don’t, and “I don’t know yet” is one of the simplest signals that this is how you choose to operate.

Psychologically, you also shift your identity from “someone who should already know” to “someone who’s committed to figuring it out”. That reduces threat, increases curiosity, and puts you back in control of the situation instead of at the mercy of it. 

A related idea is beginner’s mind, approaching problems as if for the first time, without the weight of past assumptions, and the word “yet” gives you permission to stand in that open, exploratory space.

Five ways to practice this in daily life:

✅ Every time you say you don’t know, immediately add yet and pause to identify one next step.
✅When others say they don’t know, reply with “What could we find out first?” to anchor a learning mindset.
✅Turn problems into questions by asking “What skills or information am I missing right now?” instead of “Why can’t I do this?”.
✅In your notes or slides, label open topics as “Not yet decided” or “Not yet learned” to keep them alive rather than silently dropped.
✅At the end of the week, note one thing you didn’t know at the start that you understand better now to train your brain to notice progress.

What do you think about the tiny, powerful word “yet”? How could you best apply it in your own leadership and life?

One of the sharpest minds in business will leave the stage, yet his thinking, discipline, and dry humor will keep shaping leaders long after he is gone. Enjoy!

While Elon Musk is the highly visible founder and CEO of SpaceX, its president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, is the quiet and real force behind the company´s success.

Shotwell is the rocket woman! She´s the one who made SpaceX the dominant rocket company on Earth!

In other words: Without Gwynne Shotwell, there would be no SpaceX. 

It was a big gamble when the mechanical engineer Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as its 11th employee, tasked with leading sales of Musk’s as-yet unbuilt rocket. 

At the time, she was going through a divorce, with two young children to care for, and she hesitated to leave a safe position at a small rocket maker. In the end, she joined SpaceX in 2008, Musk promoted her to run the company as president and COO.

With Elon Musk’s attention divided among his many companies, Shotwell is seen as the constant presence ensuring that the rocket maker delivers on its ambitious plans. She’s the one credited with transforming Musk’s futuristic idea of enabling people to live on other planets into a company with over 13,000 employees. 

Shotwell is described as strategic, extremely loyal, driven, highly focused, and pragmatic, and as someone who gracefully steps in when her boss once again causes disruptions and people start shaking their heads, ensuring that things cool down and are constructively resolved.

Under her leadership, SpaceX has scaled from eight launches of its Falcon rocket in 2016 to a staggering 134 in 2024. With that, SpaceX carried 83% of all satellites put into orbit worldwide last year. Most of those were SpaceX’s own communications satellites, which are the main reason investors are excited about the company. By now, SpaceX has built up a constellation of 6,800 satellites in low-Earth orbit, providing broadband internet service to millions of subscribers around the world.

Therefore, it might not come as a surprise that SpaceX is finally exploring a possible initial public offering as soon as late 2026, which, according to several experts, could value the company at around $800 billion, catapulting it past the record $500 billion valuation achieved by OpenAI in October.

With Shotwell running SpaceX on the operational side, few seriously doubt that it will happen and that it will be a major success.

So take your seat, buckle up, and get ready for another roaring Shotwell lift-off.

Let ’em wonder with their mouths wide open!

Bullet train-like speed in life isn't about rushing. It's about moving fast when speed protects momentum, clarity, and opportunity.

Speed kills drift. The longer you wait, the more mental noise builds, the more you negotiate with yourself, and the harder the first step becomes.
Speed creates feedback. Fast action gives you real data, not theories.
Speed builds credibility. People trust those who decide and execute.

Move with bullet train-like speed when:
- It’s a two-way door decision, you can reverse it
- Timing matters, waiting costs more than acting
- You’re stuck in perfection mode, and “good enough” is already valuable
- A hard conversation needs clarity now, not later

Slow down when:
- It’s a one-way door with real downside
- You’re emotional, tired, or reactive
- You haven’t heard from the people closest to the work

How to do it, without being reckless:
- Decide quickly whether it’s a two-way door or one-way door
- Set a short deadline and stick to it
- Reduce it to the next action, not the full plan
- Ship version one, then improve with feedback
- Communicate fast. One clear message beats ten half drafts

And yes, it’s okay when people have an open mouth watching you speed past them as a result of it.
That’s often the sound of someone observing what decisive looks like.

What do you think?

****************

Japan's maglev (magnetic levitation) train, the Chuo Shinkansen, holds the world speed record at 603 km/h (375 mph) and is designed for commercial speeds of around 500 km/h (314 mph).

Vaughn Smith scrubs carpets for less than 20 dollars an hour.

And there is something else...

He also speaks more than 24 languages and has a brain so remarkable that MIT neuroscientists study it.

Vaughn grew up feeling different, misunderstood, often convinced he was the problem.
So, he turned to languages, one after another, not to show off, but to make people feel seen.

Russian in a supermarket. 
Amharic, the official working language of Ethiopia, for a shy classmate. 
Salish for a tiny Indigenous community with only a few speakers left. 

Each language became a bridge, each sentence a small “splash of happiness” in someone’s day.

He has no elite degree, no glossy title, no polished career story.
What he has is relentless curiosity, deep kindness, and the courage to keep learning anyway.

His story is a reminder:
Your talent is not defined by your job description.
Your worth is not set by your résumé.
And every time you learn something new to connect with others, you expand your world and theirs.

Photo Credit: The Washington Post

Let’s not talk about what we all know but agreed not to talk about, and always avoid doing so well.

Otherwise, things might get complicated, messy, and then... oh no... I don´t want to imagine what could happen to all of us. Let's just not speak about it...

About what, you ask?

Seriously? C'mon! Everyone knows... It's that big, fleshy, hairy, grey thing. With the long whatever it has that keeps “accidentally” unplugging everything it touches. Not nice... Anyway, let's speak about something else...

Does this sound familiar to you?

Fact is, that many organizations are very good at that kind of “elephant-avoidance” choreography. The moment the elephant shifts its weight, the room suddenly discovers an urgent need to discuss other stuff, like the font size on slide twelve or everyone's plans for the coming weekend.

And while teams keep performing “business as usual,” the elephant does what elephants do. It shapes its surroundings, it changes decisions, it bends timelines. It makes smart people cautious and quiet people invisible.

However, what we really should know is that an elephant in the room is rarely a single “issue.” It’s a social agreement. A pact to protect comfort, hierarchy, or image. And once that pact exists, it spreads fast. 

Why do many people avoid the elephant in the room?

⚠️ People fear the social price. Naming the obvious can trigger embarrassment, defensiveness, retaliation, or isolation.
⚠️ People confuse politeness with professionalism. They treat discomfort as a sign they’re doing something wrong.
⚠️ People protect stories that keep them safe, and that reduce short-term friction while quietly increasing long-term damage.
⚠️ People dread the mess that follows truth. Once the elephant is named, you can’t unsee it, and now choices must be made. 

So, how best to address our big hairy friend and make him leave the room and stop bothering us?

✅ Focus on the pattern rather than the person by describing observable, repeatable behaviors, when they occur, and the impact they create.
✅ Spell out the cost in concrete terms, including decision quality, trust, customer impact, and missed opportunities, rather than hiding behind vague talk.
✅ Create the conditions for candor by setting ground rules that protect dignity and by inviting multiple perspectives, so the truth becomes shared reality.
✅ Transform the discussion into explicit agreements by clarifying what changes now, how progress will be checked, and what will happen if the pattern returns.

The elephant rarely owns the room by force. It owns it by permission, and that permission is usually silence.

When people learn to name reality early, directly, and respectfully, they strengthen trust, protect culture, and keep elephants out of the room. And out of court.  

So... wanna talk about your elephant?

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