PM Operating System in 2025 (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of the series PM Operating System in 2025. Read Part 1 here

To continue with the 3 macro-level skills –

📝 Writing
🤝 Negotiation
📊 Data Acumen

Today we will dive into Negotiation.

When I was a first-time PM, I walked into a sprint planning meeting thinking I had everything lined up.

All the user stories were perfectly written (at least that's what I thought)

I go into the room and start reviewing the stories. I had already reviewed these stories on a high level with my manager. So I walked in very confident. I started reviewing it with devs, architects, and designers.

I hear crickets. Then questions. Pushback. Other priorities.

I left the room deflated—and with none of the sprint tasks approved.

That was the day I realized, that influence isn't about having the best ideas—it's about knowing how to negotiate alignment with proper trade-offs.

My mistake? I thought approval from my manager meant the stakeholders were on board too. To be honest, I hadn't done the real work, those crucial one-on-ones before the meeting, understanding everyone's concerns, and addressing the "what's in it for me" for each stakeholder.

The best product ideas die in rooms where alignment wasn't built beforehand. Hard lesson, but worth every painful minute of that silent room.

2 weeks later a senior director introduced to a negotiation concept of 'BATNA' that I want to share with you all today.

🔍 BATNA: The Backbone of Smart Negotiation

BATNA stands for Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement.
It was introduced by Roger Fisher and William Ury in the seminal negotiation book Getting to Yes, and it’s one of the most powerful mental models for navigating any situation where two (or more) parties need to agree on a path forward.

What Is BATNA, Really?

BATNA is your backup plan. It’s the best thing you can do if the negotiation doesn’t work out.

It’s not a threat. It’s not an ultimatum.
It’s just your anchor: what you’ll do instead if there’s no deal.

Here’s why it’s crucial:

The stronger your BATNA, the more confident you’ll feel.
The clearer your BATNA, the better you can evaluate offers on the table.
The more creative your BATNA, the less likely you are to get stuck or steamrolled.

🎯 Here is an example

Let’s say you’re a PM leading a feature that improves onboarding for new users.
You need engineering to allocate 2 weeks to this initiative—but they're already at capacity with platform stability work.

You walk into the prioritization meeting, ask for the 2 weeks, and engineering says:

“We just don’t have the time this quarter. Maybe in Q3?”