A 2014 Deloitte survey found that 69 percent of chief procurement officers saw cost reduction as their main priority over the following 12 months. In 2018, the same survey showed that the number had jumped to 78 percent.

Imagine yourself at the head of a company that’s on the brink of dizzying growth — a 50-fold increase in employees, and 300 times revenues — within the next three years. Would you be excited or scared?

Poor negotiating skills can doom even the most promising startup.