The Journey with Hadi: Leadership Shackleton’s Way

I met Hadi randomly during one of my excursions through Atlanta. I always remembered him to be so fun and a burst of energy. When I came across an article naming PeachDish as one of the fastest growing meal subscription companies, I had to take some time to speak with him.

PeachDish is a meal-kit subscription company that sources only the best produce and meats based in Atlanta.

When I made my first visit to PeachDish, there were only three people a part of the team which has now grown to 50 people. Hadi shared there is no better feeling than creating a great job and a great product. With hopes to manage over 1,000 people someday, I asked Hadi, what are the practical tips to manage that many people. His response was Shackelton from the book, Shackelton’s Way, a true story of how Shackleton led 27 men through a fight for their lives after they became stranded on an ice flow. Every man survived, ascribing it to Shackleton’s superb leadership. Hadi’s key takeaway was to work with people, not just dictate what needs to be done but truly work alongside the team. An important key was also to encourage others to lead and empower them in the process. We can all learn from Shackelton and apply it in our leadership, whether managing a team of 5 or 5,000.

Entrepreneurship is by no means new to Hadi, he started his first business when he was just 13 years old and comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Hadi had the privilege of sitting at the dinner table and hearing the conversations of how to grow a business, the struggles of business, which helped him realize at the core, business is all about problem-solving. How do you solve the problem? What needs to be done? And have fun unpacking problems and finding the solution. Hadi also has the understanding that business is not linear. Sometimes you have to skip a couple of steps in the process and come back to them. Or sometimes you have to appear larger than what you are one you start off with just a team of one.