Kenneth Chabert: Powerful First Experiences
There's a demographic that a lot of people don't know exists. That demographic is gentlemen in the inner city who are extremely intelligent, have high grades, have massive potential, want to go to college, and be super successful. Two issues are standing in the way of this demographic achieving that success. The first issue is that they don't have access to the community that will help them become that successful. And because they don't have access to that community, they also don't have access to those powerful first experiences; the second issue. A powerful first experience is doing something you'd never thought you would do for the first time in a place that you never thought you would be in for the first time. Kenneth Chabert knows firsthand how much power first experiences have. Kenneth has a passion for communicating big ideas in very little time through the use of conversational intelligence and authentic storytelling. While working at Alex and Ani, he was known as the Prezi Master, one of only twenty-five experts in the world in Prezi. After starting a consulting practice, Kenneth worked with companies such as Trek Bikes, Amgen, Amica, and Burson-Marsteller in presentation design and authentic storytelling. In 2016, Kenneth founded the Gentlemen's Retreat, which teaches inner-city youth the art of being gentlemen through the use of emotional and conversational intelligence. They experience anything and everything a Gentlemen does - from staying in mansions to eating at some of the nicest restaurants, and are led through powerful workshops that enable them to get into top colleges and universities around the country such as Brown, Cornell, and Wake Forest University. The program has recently expanded into Montana where Kenneth curated Powerful First Experiences that give the Gentlemen experiential learning opportunities while expanding their networks. Kenneth coined the term "Powerful First Experiences." These types of experiences help people develop new levels of confidence and understanding of themselves and bridges the gap between people from different environments because PFEs lead to building empathy, better storytelling, creating larger and more diverse networks, and fostering a larger view of the world. Kenneth speaks around the world about powerful first experiences. He was featured as one of the Brave ones at Leadercast, was a TED Resident during Spring 2019, spoke at HATCH, and was a presenter at Kinnernet, and is part of the Nexus Global community. In this episode, Kenneth unpacks the model of the Gentlemen's Retreat and how impactful it is for all involved.