This work has been prepared as a reflection on the current business context and the demands of both the corporate and social environments. The subject of the analysis is the practitioner's viewpoint arising from the statement of the ‘seven big problems of the marketing industry' as unveiled by the American Marketing Association (AMA), to which the authors add a fundamental theme for today's world: sustainability. Subsequently, a set of classical management theories are used as an analysis formula. After contrasting them, the main aspects are set forth for each theory that to an extent contribute to the generation or aggravation of the problems. Finally, they attention to the importance of being aware of the problems and their origins but, more than that, of the commitment required by a strategy that allows for sustainable development over time.