Assess the balance of power between two parties before negotiating
⏱ This exercise takes about 15 minutes
Step 1 — Name the parties
What are the two parties involved in this negotiation?
Step 2 — First evaluation of Balance of Power
What is your perception of the balance of power between the 2 parties?
This initial assessment is an opinion, a subjective perception.
← Balance of power in your favorIn their favor →
50%
Party A
50%
Party B
Step 3 — Balance of Power Analysis
Following the initial subjective assessment, you will conduct a second, more analytical assessment by breaking down the balance of power into the different factors. Here are the suggested factors of power, and actions to take:
A. Select the factors that
impact the balance of power. B. For each factor, select the importance of that factor: it
can be Critical, Strong, Medium, or Low. C. Include any additional necessary factor.
📋
Preparation
📊
Information
👥
Team
🎯
Alignment
♟️
BATNA
⚖️
The Law
⏱️
Time
🏷️
Brands
🚀
Initiative
🤝
Relationship history
🌐
Networks & Influence
📝
Conditionality
🎓
Resources & Expertise
🔗
Dependency
📋
Preparation
How solid is your preparation? Have all scenarios been considered? How
well-prepared is the other party?
📊
Information
How strong are your data quality, analysis, reporting, and ability to turn
insight into action plans? Is data collection a manual process or automatic? What about the other side?
👥
Team
How strong are the team's negotiation skills and motivation to close the deal?
How much seniority, subject-matter knowledge, and internal influence do they have?
🎯
Alignment
How aligned are you within your own organization — across hierarchical levels
and with other departments? What about the other side? Are they aligned behind their strategy and actions?
♟️
BATNA
What alternative (plan B) do you have if no deal is reached? What alternative
does the other side have?
⚖️
The Law
How favorable is the legal or regulatory framework to your position? Does the
other side have a stronger compliance requirement that gives them more or less room to walk away?
⏱️
Time
What time pressures or deadlines are at play? Who needs this deal to close
fastest? What would each party gain from a quick deal?
🏷️
Brands
How strong are your brands? How much do customers want them? How does the power
of your brands influence the deal?
🚀
Initiative
Who takes the initiative in the deal? Who sets the pace and the rules of the
game a. could you counter a 15-day meeting request with “can we meet in 7 days”?
🤝
Relationship history
How good is the relationship? Did past projects succeed? Have any threats
actually been executed? How much trust exists between the two parties?
🌐
Networks & Influence
Do you have a single point of contact within the other organization, or
multiple points of contact? How strong is your internal network and influence within the other
organization?
📝
Conditionality
Are the concessions clearly defined in the contract? Are they regularly tracked
with action plans? How have they been handled in the past?
🎓
Resources & Expertise
Who has more resources — financial, people, network — and how quickly can they
mobilize them? What capabilities, expertise, and know-how make up your competitive advantage in the deal?
🔗
Dependency
Is there an economic dependency at play? How much weight do you carry within
their portfolio? How much do they represent in yours?
Page 1 / 3
Step 3 — Balance of Power Analysis
Since we have the list
of factors ready, let's see which of the parties is stronger.
D. Drag the orange handle
on each slider. Party A is always shown on the left, Party B on the right.
Party A
50%
Party B
50%
Page 2 / 3
First evaluation vs. calculated analysis
First evaluation
Party A
—
Party B
—
Calculated analysis
Party A
—
Party B
—
Breakdown by factor
Factor
A
B
Edge
Analysis & Recommendations
Prepared for
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