Horses wear blinders to keep from getting distracted by their excellent peripheral vision. Trainers want their horses to focus on the track ahead.

Marketers seem to be easily distracted by what others are doing. As I think back on countless boardroom meetings that focused on competitive advertising, I clearly remember more time being spent in furious discussion about competitive marketing.

Perhaps the major cause of scarcity thinking is consideration of how others are making their way around the track. Focusing on what others are doing can cause our vision to be distracted.

I remember being told at school one day that I was poor. I didn't know about "poor" until someone described it to me. Until that day in school, I thought I was living in abundance.

It seems to me that the best marketing in existence today is whatever others are doing. "Look at their marketing campaigns!"

No, I shan't.

There is one common ingredient among successful marketing campaigns. The key success marker is a long-term commitment to a system of marketing. A marketing flash-in-the-pan is simply a flash with no true sustainability factors. It seemed good and then the good wore off.

Great marketing has similar characteristics to an investment and hold stock strategy. Wise financial investments seem focused on the long term.

I wonder if early investments in Stanley Steemer's yellow van are showing fruit today. I wonder if Crest Toothpaste could be built into a billion-dollar brand with today's social media. I wonder if there is another root beer brand more established than A&W.

Brands and successful companies are built with blinders in the boardroom.

Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His book, Love Leads: The Spiritual Connection Between Your Relationships and Productivity, is now available.

Leaders, Dr. Greene wants to help you understand the spiritual connection between relationships and productivity. Read his new blog, here.

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