If your current negotiation reaches an impasse, what’s your best outside option? Most seasoned negotiators understand the value of evaluating their BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement, a concept that Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton introduced in their seminal book, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Penguin, 1991, second … Read Take your BATNA to the Next Level 
Discover step-by-step techniques for avoiding common business negotiation pitfalls when you download a copy of the FREE special report, Business Negotiation Strategies: How to Negotiate Better Business Deals, from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
watna
Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: In a negotiation, your WATNA represents one of several paths that you can follow if a resolution cannot be reached. Like its BATNA counterpart, understanding your WATNA is one alternative you can use to compare against your other options along alternative paths in order to make more informed decisions at the bargaining table. See Also: Dealmaking Relationship Rules and Business Negotiations, 10 Hard Bargaining Tactics, Business Negotiators – Find the Right Fit.
The following items are tagged watna:
Leveraging BATNA at the Dinner Table: Negotiate Your Way to Holiday Cheer
Posted by Katie Shonk & filed under Negotiation Skills.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so they say. As we look ahead to winter vacation and seemingly endless days of family celebrations, many feel a sense of dread, anticipating tensions and conflict as drearily predictable as overcooked turkey and practical gifts. Even those who look forward to family get-togethers often end … Read More 
BATNA and Risky Negotiation Tactics
Your BATNA is your “best alternative to a negotiated agreement.” Expect that your negotiating counterpart has one going into a negotiation, and so should you. Below is a good BATNA negotiation example involving how to leverage your away-from-the-bargaining-table options and the risks inherent with such a negotiation strategy.
… Read BATNA and Risky Negotiation Tactics 
Negotiation and Leadership
- Download Program Guide:
Fall 2026 - Register Online:
Fall 2026 - Learn More about Negotiation and Leadership
NEGOTIATION MASTER CLASS
- Download Program Guide:
December 2026 - Register Online:
December 2026 - Learn More about Harvard Negotiation Master Class
Negotiation Essentials Online
- Download Program Guide:
September 2026 - Register Online:
September 2026 - Learn More about Negotiation Essentials Online
Select Your Free Special Report
- Managing Complex Negotiations Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation Essentials Online (NEO) Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation Master Class Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation and Leadership Fall 2026 Program Guide
- AI and Negotiation
- Effective Negotiation Preparation for an Uncertain World
- Negotiation Essentials In-House Program Guide
- Make the Most of Online Negotiations
- Managing Multiparty Negotiations
- Getting the Deal Done
Teaching Negotiation Resource Center
Preparing for Negotiation
Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for negotiation. In this video, Professor Guhan Subramanian discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success. This discussion was held at the 3 day executive education workshop for senior executives at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Guhan Subramanian is the Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School.
Articles & Insights

BATNA
- BATNA Examples—and What You Can Learn from Them
- Negotiation Examples: How Crisis Negotiators Use Text Messaging
- 10 Hard-Bargaining Tactics to Watch Out for in a Negotiation
- What is BATNA? How to Find Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
- Know Your BATNA: The Power of Information in Negotiation

Business Negotiations
- Teaming Up in Job Negotiations: Collective Bargaining and a Most Favored Nations Clause
- The Importance of Negotiation in Business and Your Career
- Negotiation Preparation Strategies
- M&A Negotiation Strategy: How Iger and Lucas Launched Star Wars into a New Era
- Successes & Messes: A Notoriously Bad Business Contract

Conflict Resolution

Crisis Negotiations

Dealing with Difficult People
- Dealing with Difficult People: Coping with an Insulting Offer in Contract Negotiations
- Managing Difficult Employees: Listening to Learn
- Using Negotiation Theory to Understand Personal Identity
- M&A Negotiation Strategy: Dealing with an Unpredictable Counterpart
- How to Manage Difficult Staff: Gen Z Edition

Dealmaking

Dispute Resolution

International Negotiation
- Government Negotiations: The Brittney Griner Case
- International Negotiations and Agenda Setting: Controlling the Flow of the Negotiation Process
- International Negotiations: North and South Korea Talks Collapse
- Famous Negotiators: Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin
- India’s Direct Approach to Conflict Resolution

Leadership Skills

Mediation
- Employee Mediation Techniques – Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflict with These Mediation Skills
- Why is Negotiation Important: Mediation in Transactional Negotiations
- Arbitration vs Mediation: The Definition of Mediation as a Problem Solving Process
- AI Mediation: Using AI to Help Mediate Disputes
- Using E-Mediation and Online Mediation Techniques for Conflict Resolution

Negotiation Skills
- Power in Negotiation: The Impact on Negotiators and the Negotiation Process
- Expanding the Pie: Integrative versus Distributive Bargaining Negotiation Strategies
- Deceptive Tactics in Negotiation: How to Ward Them Off
- 3 Types of Power in Negotiation
- Communication in Negotiation: How Hard Should You Push?

Negotiation Training
- Collaborative Negotiation Examples: Tenants and Landlords
- Ethics and Negotiation: 5 Principles of Negotiation to Boost Your Bargaining Skills in Business Situations
- 3-D Negotiation Strategy
- Gender and Negotiation: New Research Findings
- Use a Negotiation Preparation Worksheet for Continuous Improvement

Salary Negotiations

Teaching Negotiation
- Managing Emotions in Negotiation: Teaching Students to Turn Emotions into an Opportunity for Mutual Gain
- New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics
- New Great Negotiator Case: Christiana Figueres and the Road to the Paris Agreement
- New Simulation: Teaching Multi‑Party Negotiation on Energy, Environment, and Community Impacts
- Camp Lemonnier: Negotiating a Lease Agreement for a Key Military Base in Africa

Win-Win Negotiations
Negotiation and Leadership
- Download Program Guide:
Fall 2026 - Register Online:
Fall 2026 - Learn More about Negotiation and Leadership
NEGOTIATION MASTER CLASS
- Download Program Guide:
December 2026 - Register Online:
December 2026 - Learn More about Harvard Negotiation Master Class
Negotiation Essentials Online
- Download Program Guide:
September 2026 - Register Online:
September 2026 - Learn More about Negotiation Essentials Online
Beyond the Back Table: Working with People and Organizations to Get to Yes
- Download Program Guide:
February 2025 - Register Online:
February 2025 - Learn More about Beyond the Back Table
Select Your Free Special Report
- Managing Complex Negotiations Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation Essentials Online (NEO) Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation Master Class Fall 2026 Program Guide
- Negotiation and Leadership Fall 2026 Program Guide
- AI and Negotiation
- Effective Negotiation Preparation for an Uncertain World
- Negotiation Essentials In-House Program Guide
- Make the Most of Online Negotiations
- Managing Multiparty Negotiations
- Getting the Deal Done
- How to Negotiate Your Salary and Raises
Teaching Negotiation Resource Center
Preparing for Negotiation
Understanding how to arrange the meeting space is a key aspect of preparing for negotiation. In this video, Professor Guhan Subramanian discusses a real world example of how seating arrangements can influence a negotiator’s success. This discussion was held at the 3 day executive education workshop for senior executives at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Guhan Subramanian is the Professor of Law and Business at the Harvard Law School and Professor of Business Law at the Harvard Business School.
Articles & Insights

BATNA
- BATNA Examples—and What You Can Learn from Them
- Negotiation Examples: How Crisis Negotiators Use Text Messaging
- 10 Hard-Bargaining Tactics to Watch Out for in a Negotiation
- What is BATNA? How to Find Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
- Know Your BATNA: The Power of Information in Negotiation

Business Negotiations
- Teaming Up in Job Negotiations: Collective Bargaining and a Most Favored Nations Clause
- The Importance of Negotiation in Business and Your Career
- Negotiation Preparation Strategies
- M&A Negotiation Strategy: How Iger and Lucas Launched Star Wars into a New Era
- Successes & Messes: A Notoriously Bad Business Contract

Conflict Resolution

Crisis Negotiations

Dealing with Difficult People
- Dealing with Difficult People: Coping with an Insulting Offer in Contract Negotiations
- Managing Difficult Employees: Listening to Learn
- Using Negotiation Theory to Understand Personal Identity
- M&A Negotiation Strategy: Dealing with an Unpredictable Counterpart
- How to Manage Difficult Staff: Gen Z Edition

Dealmaking

Dispute Resolution

International Negotiation
- Government Negotiations: The Brittney Griner Case
- International Negotiations and Agenda Setting: Controlling the Flow of the Negotiation Process
- International Negotiations: North and South Korea Talks Collapse
- Famous Negotiators: Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin
- India’s Direct Approach to Conflict Resolution

Leadership Skills

Mediation
- Employee Mediation Techniques – Resolve Disputes and Manage Conflict with These Mediation Skills
- Why is Negotiation Important: Mediation in Transactional Negotiations
- Arbitration vs Mediation: The Definition of Mediation as a Problem Solving Process
- AI Mediation: Using AI to Help Mediate Disputes
- Using E-Mediation and Online Mediation Techniques for Conflict Resolution

Negotiation Skills
- Power in Negotiation: The Impact on Negotiators and the Negotiation Process
- Expanding the Pie: Integrative versus Distributive Bargaining Negotiation Strategies
- Deceptive Tactics in Negotiation: How to Ward Them Off
- 3 Types of Power in Negotiation
- Communication in Negotiation: How Hard Should You Push?

Negotiation Training
- Collaborative Negotiation Examples: Tenants and Landlords
- Ethics and Negotiation: 5 Principles of Negotiation to Boost Your Bargaining Skills in Business Situations
- 3-D Negotiation Strategy
- Gender and Negotiation: New Research Findings
- Use a Negotiation Preparation Worksheet for Continuous Improvement

Salary Negotiations

Teaching Negotiation
- Managing Emotions in Negotiation: Teaching Students to Turn Emotions into an Opportunity for Mutual Gain
- New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics
- New Great Negotiator Case: Christiana Figueres and the Road to the Paris Agreement
- New Simulation: Teaching Multi‑Party Negotiation on Energy, Environment, and Community Impacts
- Camp Lemonnier: Negotiating a Lease Agreement for a Key Military Base in Africa

Win-Win Negotiations




