CavemenThere’s an anonymous anecdote that tells the tale of two cavemen who were shivering and trying to stay warm by the fire in their cave while outside it was uncomfortably cold, raining, thundering and lightning.

The first caveman turned to the other and said, “You know, we never had this crazy weather before they started using bows and arrows.”*

It’s humorous in its overt silliness, yet when you think about it, you can clearly see the steps the fictitious caveman took to reach his fallacious conclusion. In his simple, uncomplicated life, there had been two major changes that had occurred, one before the other. So, to him, it was obvious that the new use of weapons “caused” the changes in the weather. Aesop would say the moral of the story is when two changes occur, one is not necessarily guilty of – or possibly not even related to – the other.

There are many changes happening now in the retail world. It’s important to see the full picture to+ know what is real.

*Idea Bank McMurray Publishing 2008