About
A trusted insight and execution partner for the 618.
618Today is a management consulting and advisory firm based in Southern Illinois and the Metro East, the 618 area code region. We are based here, we work here, and we are accountable to the same communities our clients serve.
The firm
Advisory work, held to an audit standard
We serve businesses, healthcare leaders, county-based organizations and leaders, civic institutions, and economic development organizations that operate in the 618.
We are an advisory firm, not a news outlet and not a publisher. Our written work exists to inform decisions, and it carries the same sourcing discipline we apply to a grant narrative: facts are cited, inferences are labeled, and assumptions are flagged for verification.
We do not resell software and we hold no vendor commissions. When we recommend a platform, the only thing we are selling is the analysis behind the recommendation.
Why 618Today
The 618 is the region we serve. Today is the standard we hold ourselves to. We stay current on the conditions, the funding, and the business trends that actually affect our clients, because advice built on last year's picture will fail in this year's conditions.
We remember the past. We do not live in the past.
- Problem first, service second. We start by working out what is actually wrong, not by fitting you to something we already sell.
- Research first, conclusion up front. We do the analysis before we form a view, then put that view on page one.
- Sourced or flagged. Facts are cited. Inferences and assumptions are labeled as such.
- Scoped in writing. Every engagement runs on a written statement of work agreed before any work begins.
- Outcomes, not seats. We sell defined results. We do not place staff by the hour.
- Capability, not dependency. Every engagement leaves your team more able to make the next decision without us.
- Built to survive an audit. If it cannot be defended to a funder or a board, we do not deliver it.
Leadership
Chuck Lear, Principal
Chuck Lear is the principal of 618Today, working with healthcare leaders, counties, and businesses across the region on strategy, rural health programs, and public funding.