Several years ago on a late Saturday evening, my wife let out Cassidy, our golden retriever, into the backyard to do her business.

As part of her late-night liturgy, Cassidy scratched the door to be let back in, and when my wife opened the door, the dog flew past her into the family room. And so did a stench that burned the hairs in your nostrils. I arrived on the scene about 10 minutes later and I swear I could almost see a faint haze in the house. Cassidy had been sprayed by a skunk. In fact, as I gave the dog a bath in tomato juice and dishwashing soap 30 minutes later, I saw the stream of skunk fluid on the coat of Cassidy - a direct, close-up hit. Golden retrievers are not known for their intelligence.

By the time Jana got the dog back outside, the house had absorbed the smell. It took 2 weeks from that night for the smell to work its way out of the house, thanks mainly to lots of fresh air.

About a week into the 2-week ordeal, I awoke and sniffed and thought, “Hey, I think the smell is finally gone.” But when I returned at 6 PM later that day, after 10 hours at work, I entered our front door, greeted by skunk-smell. I suspect that even our clothes reeked of skunk for a time.

Here’s my point: The longer you’re in the house, the less you can smell the odor.

That’s also true of marketing. The longer you work at the same thing, the less you are able to see what’s not working. That’s why continuing education is so important. That’s why you outsource. That’s why you read. That’s why you hire staff with different experiences.

The attention of our prospective clients is in scarce supply these days. Arresting their attention requires that we don’t grow accustomed to the smell.