No. 96 · People · General Thinking
Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
Your power in a deal comes from what you will do if the deal fails.
In the Almanac
“The Louisiana Purchase”, 1803 · “Taylor’s Version”, 2019–2025
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
Get the AlmanacQuestions
What is Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement?
Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement, or BATNA, is what you will actually do if a deal falls through. The better that alternative, the less you need any one deal and the more calmly you can negotiate.
How do you use Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement?
Before any important negotiation, write down your walk-away option and work to improve it. Get a second quote, a competing offer or a backup plan. Then accept only deals that beat it.
When does Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement matter?
Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement is one of the 60 mental models for people, the situations where you ask: Why do people act as they do, and how do I work with them? Within that, it belongs to “Negotiating and conflict”, alongside Appeasement, Call Your Bluff and Deterrence.
What is an example of Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement?
Two stories show it at work: The Louisiana Purchase (1803) and Taylor’s Version (2019–2025). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement?
Preserving Optionality, Zero-Sum vs Win-Win and Call Your Bluff. Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement itself comes from general thinking.