BATNA: the variable that determines everything else
In 1981, Roger Fisher and William Ury published "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In", drawing on work from the Harvard Negotiation Project — Bruce Patton joined as co-author in later editions. The book introduces a concept now central to any serious preparation: BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement), the best option available if the current negotiation reaches no agreement at all.
BATNA is not a target or a desired price: it's an external reference point, independent of whatever the other party proposes. A strong BATNA (another job offer in hand, another supplier available) gives a negotiator the ability to walk away from a mediocre deal without fear. A weak or unknown BATNA pushes people to accept unfavourable terms out of fear of leaving empty-handed.
Fisher, Ury and Patton also propose a complete method, "principled negotiation", structured around four principles: separate the people from the problem, focus on interests rather than positions, invent options for mutual gain, and insist on using objective criteria to resolve disagreements.
Fisher and Ury are clear: it isn't your fallback position that should guide a negotiation, but the constant comparison between what's being offered at the table and what your best alternative outside the table is actually worth.
Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (1981/1991). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books.How to concretely prepare for a negotiation
Preparation happens on two distinct levels: quantifying your BATNA, and clarifying your real interests before preparing your arguments.
Calculating your BATNA before you negotiate
Calculating your BATNA means seriously listing the real alternatives available if no agreement is reached (another offer, another supplier, the status quo), then identifying the best one. From that BATNA comes your reservation price — the threshold below (or above) which walking away is better than accepting. Without this calculation done in advance, that threshold gets set emotionally, in the middle of the negotiation — exactly the least reliable moment to set it.
Preparing your interests, not just your position
A position is what you explicitly ask for ("I want this salary"). An interest is the underlying reason ("I want recognition for my role", "I want financial security"). The most effective preparation identifies your own real interests — often broader than your stated position — and anticipates the other party's, which opens negotiation options that stay invisible if you only prepare arguments to defend your position.
The mistake that weakens the whole negotiation
The most common preparation mistake isn't a lack of arguments, but preparing the wrong ones: defending a position instead of clarifying the interests it's meant to serve, and negotiating without having calculated a real BATNA.
- Entering a negotiation without having calculated your BATNA, which pushes you to decide under pressure rather than with a clear head
- Preparing arguments to defend your position instead of identifying your real interests
- Never anticipating the other party's likely interests ahead of the negotiation
- Confusing your desired price (the ideal outcome) with your reservation price (the real threshold below which you should walk away)
- Treating preparation as optional for "simple" negotiations, when the costliest outcomes often come from negotiations that were underestimated
A BATNA calculated ahead of time moves the decision from the most emotional moment (mid-negotiation) to the most rational one (before it even starts). That difference in timing, more than raw negotiating talent, explains most deals people regret afterwards.
Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (1981/1991). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books.How to embed this preparation for good
Knowing the BATNA concept isn't enough to reflexively calculate it before every negotiation, including informal ones or those that seem minor. Like any skill, embedding it comes from repetition — ideally spaced over time.
That's the approach behind memia's negotiation deck series: flashcards that regularly revisit BATNA calculation, the interests-vs-positions distinction, and reservation price, until this method becomes a systematic reflex before any negotiation.
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Frequently asked questions
What exactly is BATNA?
BATNA stands for "Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement" — the best option available if the current negotiation fails to produce an agreement. It was formalised by Fisher, Ury and Patton in "Getting to Yes" (1981) as an external reference for evaluating any proposal on the table.
Why is BATNA so important?
Without a BATNA calculated in advance, you evaluate a proposal only against your expectations or your emotions in the moment, which pushes you to either accept a mediocre deal out of fear of leaving empty-handed, or reject a good deal out of overconfidence. BATNA provides an objective threshold, set before the pressure of negotiation.
What is the difference between interests and positions?
A position is what you explicitly ask for. An interest is the underlying reason behind that request. Preparing by clarifying your interests (not just your position) opens negotiation options that a preparation focused only on positional arguments wouldn't reveal.
How do you actually calculate your BATNA before a negotiation?
By seriously listing the real alternatives available if no agreement is reached, then identifying the best one. That best alternative determines your reservation price — the threshold below (or above) which walking away from the negotiation is the better choice.
Should you prepare even for negotiations that seem minor?
Yes. The costliest outcomes often come from negotiations wrongly assumed to be secondary, precisely because they weren't prepared with the same rigour as negotiations perceived as important.
Can preparing for a negotiation be learned with flashcards?
Flashcards don't replace real practice, but they anchor the reflex of calculating your BATNA and separating interests from positions before every negotiation, until this preparation becomes systematic rather than occasional. That's the role of memia's negotiation deck series in the Negotiation & Influence guide.