Next-Level Negotiating (HBR Women at Work Series)

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The Most Overused Negotiating Tactic Is Threatening to Walk Away

by Jay A. Hewlin

Professional negotiators and researchers alike hail the BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or “walk away” outcome) as a negotiator’s primary source of relative power.1 But relying on even the best of alternatives as leverage can be tricky business.

Your relative power in a negotiation is your capacity to use resources to influence another’s circumstances, and a BATNA’s role in that regard can range anywhere from significant to nonexistent. Consider the obvious challenge of a negotiator who thinks she has a very strong alternative but discovers that the other side has a relatively stronger one. This type of BATNA asymmetry can occur in several ...