Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)
If you're engaged in negotiations and no agreement can be reached, your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) is the course of action you'll take. BATNA is an acronym coined by negotiation researchers Roger Fisher and William Ury in their 1981 bestseller "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In." A party's BATNA refers to what a party can fall back on if a negotiation proves unsuccessful.Your BATNA is your fallback position – the course of action you'll take if talks fail and no agreement can be reached. It's important to know your BATNA going into negotiations so that you can make informed decisions about whether or not to accept an offer.If you're not sure what your BATNA is, there are a few ways to figure it out. First, consider what you want to achieve in the negotiation. What are your goals? Once you know your goals, you can start to brainstorm possible courses of action that would help you achieve those goals.Next, take into account your resources and constraints. What can you realistically do? What are your limitations?Finally, think about your walk-away point – the point at which you would walk away from the negotiation.Once you know your BATNA, you can use it to inform your decision-making in negotiations. If an offer isn't as good as your BATNA, you can walk away from the negotiation knowing that you have a fallback option that is at least as good as the offer on the table.Knowing your BATNA can also help you bargaining power in negotiations. If you know your BATNA is good, you can be more confident in your bargaining position.
