Hidden Hazards Of Batna Development

Francesca Gino Contributor

By Francesca Gino Harvard Professor

Q. I was recently put in charge of leading negotiations with a supplier involved in one of our company’s products. Given what I learned in school and in negotiation books, I did my homework: I started exploring options with other suppliers to gain power and reduce risk in case the current negotiations with my preferred vendor go sour. I invested quite a bit of time (and money!) creating those options but, in the end, I was not interested in pursuing them, and I let them go. Now I can’t help but wonder: Was focusing on the current negotiation the right decision?