Big Buzz CEO Wendy O’Donovan Phillips is a member of the Forbes Agency Council and regularly contributes articles to its website. Below is a snippet from her recent piece on the importance of personal reading in an overall marketing strategy.

I used to be allergic to accountants. I’d hire them, over-delegate then break out into cold sweats. I’d fire them, try the DIY method and break out into hives. I’d hire a new one only to begin the cycle all over again.

Turned out the accountants weren’t the problem. They were certified, experienced professionals. At the time, I lacked the vision and structures to make the most of their services.

A friend of mine had the same trouble with marketers. As the CEO of a major medical practice trade organization, she had watched myriad talented marketers come and go on her internal team and had hired and fired a slew of different agencies over the years. She just kept coming up shorthanded.

“Why isn’t marketing working?” she asked me.

I suggested to her that it might not be a people problem. Here’s what else I told her.