A brand wants to expand and draws Death and The Devil

Suppose a brand is about to open a new location and is also negotiating a partnership. Let's use this to practise: you ask about expanding and draw Death and The Devil. How could you read it? This is an example reading, not a record of a real client.

Let's say both cards are upright.

Death. The Devil.

The card names aren't pleasant, but there's no need to read them as failure straight away. I'd start with two questions: which old ways of working need to change? And what terms in this partnership haven't been made clear yet?

Death: let the old way of working end first

When opening a new location, people often carry over their existing way of working. If the current process already stretches everyone, expanding may make it harder to manage. What to look at here is which problems already exist, and which come from the new plan.

Death can be a reminder that some arrangements no longer fit. List the steps where mistakes keep happening, ask the people involved why, then decide what to keep and what to rebuild.

The Devil: see clearly what the partnership costs

The other side brings money and connections, which is tempting. The Devil points to the other side of the deal: what do you trade for it? Control of the business? Decision-making power? Or a contract with no exit clause?

So the discussion can't stop at "do we get along?" How much each side puts in, who is responsible for what, and how decisions get made when you disagree all need confirming separately. Contract terms and financial feasibility still need the help of the relevant professionals.

These cards can help raise the questions to ask before expanding. In the end it comes down to whether the costs, staffing and partnership terms work.

For brand and business questions, see the brand health check.

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