Andreas von der Heydt's Recent LinkedIn Posts

We all have three currencies. Time. Knowledge. Money. For years, especially while building a career and family, money looked like the decisive currency to me. Until I started to understand that our life is the sum of our exchanges. That insight didn’t come in one big moment. It built across many years. Money matters. It helps create independence and reduce pressure. But in the end, it hasn’t been the currency that shaped the most meaningful parts of my career and life. Those moments were usually tied to people, love, and trust. They often came in situations where I was supported by others, or where I could help someone else grow and succeed. That is what truly lasts. I came to realize that time is the most personal currency because you can spend it only once. Still, in many careers, the pattern is almost always the same. People spend time to build knowledge. Then they use knowledge to create money. Later, they try to use money to buy back time, only to find out that missed time and missed opportunities can’t be recovered. But the question is no longer only whether we are making smart exchanges. The bigger topic is whether we are investing deeply enough in the one currency whose value is now rising fastest in a machine-driven world: human capability! Because as AI keeps advancing and machines improve at being machines, we must improve at being humans. The kind of knowledge that will matter most will increasingly shift beyond traditional soft skills and technical fluency. It will be our "Human Power Skills" that set the stage. The ability to think originally. The capacity to care. The discipline to exercise judgment. The maturity to guide others well. The humility to challenge yourself self-critically. All the skills that AI and machines can't automate and replicate at the required level. So yes, our life is the sum of our exchanges. Spend your time wisely. Build the right knowledge. Use money for what it can do, but don’t confuse it with what makes a life meaningful. In the years ahead, the strongest investment most of us can make will be to become better at being humans. ********* Human Power Skills are a core element of a new leadership approach I developed called HUMA, Human Leadership in a Machine-Driven Era. 1. The HUMA book will be released end of May. Ping me if you’d like to receive a succinct summary version in the next couple of weeks. Or send an email via the contact form on my website: https://lnkd.in/dMzAEVVt 2. For all German speakers, my new HUMA leadership course for managers and entrepreneurs will start in September at the European Business School (EBS). More info here: https://lnkd.in/dQDWPHZV https://lnkd.in/dQDWPHZV

Winning isn’t about striving for perfection. Roger Federer explained that out of his 1,526 singles matches, he won almost 80% of those matches. However, he only won 54 percent of the points in those matches. In other words: even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half  of the points they play. Why did he still become one of the greatest players? Because he won the important points! While others get frustrated about losing a point, He left the lost points behind him and forgot about them. Such a mindset frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that. That’s how you can condition yourself to win the important points, and eventually the matches. The best are not the best  because they win every point. It’s because they know  they’ll lose again and again, and have learned how to deal with it.

Often, we get our priorities in life wrong. What I've seen over the years after having coached and worked with hundreds of professionals is that most of us spend decades chasing the wrong things. We optimize for status, security, approval, and our personal interests. Only to arrive at clarity when it’s (too) late. The lessons below are the ones I wish more people would internalize early. Not learning them is very expensive: - Everything is temporary: Accept that your current status and your current crises are both fleeting, so do not anchor your identity to either. - Life isn't fair: Stop litigating the "injustice" of your circumstances and start making the best move available from where you actually stand. - Family matters more than friends: Realize that a network is built on utility. Your family is the only group that stays when your utility is gone. - Others treat you the way you treat yourself: If you don’t set a high price on your own time and mental health, others will naturally treat them as free resources. - Beneath anger, there's fear: When a colleague or partner lashes out, ignore the noise and identify the specific insecurity they are trying to protect. - Happiness is a choice: Understand that contentment is like an internal operating system. It’s not a destination you reach once you hit a certain milestone. - A lifetime isn't as long as you think: Check your calendar today, because "someday" is a predatory concept that steals the time you actually have. - The biggest risk is taking no risk: Accept that staying in a "comfortable" position is actually a decision to decline while the rest of the world moves forward. - Things don't matter so much: Prioritize your freedom and your relationships over the accumulation of status symbols that eventually just become useless. - You played it too safe: Acknowledge that you will eventually regret the bold actions you hesitated to take far more than the mistakes you made while trying. In the end, wisdom is not the accumulation of knowledge and experience. It’s the courage to learn from it and act on it. Before life forces you to. Ready?

The most successful people spend as much time as possible with those who inspire them to see things differently, from new angles, in brighter colors, in bigger shapes, and from much bolder perspectives. They’ve understood that it’s not good, or that it’s even risky, to think you’ve seen it all and know it all, and to stay in your proven lane. They intentionally resist falling into such a thinking pattern. Instead, they’re mindful to be with those who ignite their senses to see what can be possible if we’re willing to think big. I call them TBS people, Think Big Stimulators. They don’t accept limitations. They know that we can only move products, businesses, people, and our society forward if we don’t accept the status quo. Are you spending enough deliberate time with TBS people?

The blueprint of a successful and fulfilled life is: Believing in yourself: keep the promises you make to yourself. Especially the small ones, until your self-trust becomes evidence-based. Then act before you feel ready. Let repeated proof, not reassurance, do the convincing. If you believe in yourself, you help yourself. In a next step, you believe in others and help them. The cheat code is discipline and consistency: discipline sets the direction, consistency supplies the ongoing focus, and hard work closes the gap between intention and outcome. Talent helps but doesn’t work by itself. The truth is nobody is coming to save you: other people can support you and open doors, but they can’t carry your decisions or your consequences. In the end, you live with what you choose and what you tolerate. Help others realize the same.

There’s nothing more exciting and motivating than being part of a great team. A team that stands together and goes all in to get better, to grow, to win. They fight for every point and push past their limits, bringing out plays and tactics no one saw coming. When others say it can’t be done, they get to work. That’s what sets a great team apart from a good one. They give everything for each other. And they never ever stop before it’s over. Whatever the outcome, they’ll be winners.

For career day, a child chose to dress as the person no one expected, his school’s maintenance worker. That child saw what many miss. Usually, for career days, children dress as doctors, astronauts, athletes, or famous people. This child chose something different. He dressed as his school’s maintenance worker. The kid did it not because it's a fancy and popular job but because it's the work and person he admires most. A maintenance worker doesn’t present on big stages  and doesn’t give motivational speeches. He’s doing the work that needs to get done. He’s the one who makes sure that all runs smoothly. He’s opening and closing the buildings every day. He fixes what is broken and needs repair. He works hard to make sure that everything is clean and safe. And ensures that school is a place to learn and grow Often the people who shape us and our lives the most are the ones who operate in the background without impressive titles, big egos, and loud voices. And when a child sees their value, it tells us something important: Respect is learned by watching and appreciating. When children notice effort, dignity, and kindness in everyday work,  they grow up understanding that every role matters. That’s leadership in its purest form.

The sooner we understand the following universal truth, the better it is for us, our growth, success, and happiness: “There are people who will never support you because it's you. Then there are people who will always support you because it's you. You just have to find your people.” Don’t waste your time trying to convince the ones who will never want to be convinced. Instead, spend all your time and energy on the ones who like you and will always root for you. Go and find them, build strong relationships with them, support each other, and succeed together.

Operating in a niche can be a smart way to grow your business and yourself. You can resize the playing field. There are fewer big players. The rules are often less developed. In many cases, there is no established playbook. That creates room to innovate and to build an advantage early. However, it’s one thing to choose a smaller playing field on purpose. It’s another to underestimate how quickly others will notice the same opportunity and move into it. That’s why boldness and speed matter. If you want to win in a niche, you need to grow early and with very high determination. You need to build a strong position before the field gets crowded. You need to shape the market while others are still figuring it out. Stay lean. Keep learning. Don’t assume the niche will stay yours for long. Be prepared to face some tough challengers.

They said humans couldn’t fly. So, the Wright brothers went and built the first successful powered airplane. They said she couldn’t lead serious science. So, Marie Curie went and won two Nobel Prizes. They said he couldn’t come back from prison. So, Nelson Mandela went and became President of South Africa. They said he couldn’t compose without hearing. So, Ludwig van Beethoven went and wrote some of history’s greatest music while deaf. They said her paintings weren’t good enough. So, Frida Kahlo went and became one of the most influential painters of the 20th century. What are they saying you can’t do?