What is a BATNA and Why is it important?

BATNA, what is it?  Your BATNA is your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; Fisher, Ury, Patton 1991. It is the position at which you are prepared to walk away from the negotiation table.  Knowing your BATNA helps to mentally ground you in the negotiation as it sets the position that you will not accept and decide to walk away from the situation. Simply put, it is the position that you’ll accept any set of terms better than your BATNA and reject anything worse than your BATNA.

As we have advocated for as a best practice here at Negotiation Assistance, preparation is the key to negotiation success. During preparation is when you should develop your BATNA and be prepared to stick to that BATNA throughout the negotiation. Unless something significant changes within the negotiation parameters, you shouldn’t change your BATNA during the negotiation. You must remember that you built that BATNA based on your negotiation preparation. You’ve adequately expanded your negotiation envelope, you’ve created value and your BATNA is the position that you’d be comfortable and ready to walk away – don’t let emotions during a negotiation sway your position, don’t let it change your BATNA, don’t be persuaded to move!

A helpful tip from “The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator”; Thompson 2001 is to physically write down your BATNA on a piece of paper, put in your pocket or somewhere easily accessible and take it with you to the negotiation table. Do this so you can actually take it out at any time during the negotiation and remind yourself of your BATNA to ensure that you stick with it. “The best, most valuable alternative should be selected to represent your BATNA”, so stay the course and stay with your BATNA.