Raison d’Être

Chester & Fourth began life during a global pandemic to help others develop more effective responses to disruption of any kind.

The forces unleashed by the events of 2020 caught many governments and industries around the world unprepared and scrambling for answers. The deluge of advice that followed in the wake of the crisis was often uncoordinated, of dubious quality, and not attuned to the realities decision makers faced.

Chester & Fourth’s mission to correct this deficit took shape long before the arrival of COVID-19. While garage spaces feature prominently in the origin stories of Silicon Valley giants, our earliest beginnings date back to McMaster University.

Collaborative learning and problem solving environments influenced the design of our initial service offering.

Retreats are a popular forum for leaders to engage with the goals and challenges of their organizations at a deeper level. A famous example from the world of philanthropy is the annual retreat organized by the signatories of the Giving Pledge.  

Despite their advantages, retreats can be taxing affairs and for some organizations simply outside the realm of possibility. Hidden biases, moreover, affect the objectivity of even the most diverse boards and management teams.

Recognizing the dual need for good and unbiased ideas, and a method that delivers them, Chester & Fourth: