Longview Services

John Mangum is a partner in Longview Services (Longview), an engineering consulting firm he began with his friend and former coworker, Frank Edmonds. The firm has seen steady growth over the past few years, but a key contract recently fell through. Now, Longview is considering pursuing a new contract that could be lucrative. Edmonds is in favor of pursuing the contract, but Mangum has misgivings. Edmonds is away, leaving Mangum to complete and submit the proposal, and Mangum is unsure whether he should proceed. This case can be useful in courses that cover entrepreneurship, particularly partnerships, contracts, and negotiations.ExcerptUVA-ENT-0170Rev. Mar. 24, 2020Longview ServicesIntroductionJohn Mangum shoved his keyboard aside, sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He looked across the desk he shared with Frank Edmonds. They were the two key partners in Longview Services (Longview) and generally saw eye to eye on business decisions. This time, however, they disagreed.Sharing an office with their work surfaces facing one another made it easy for Mangum and Edmonds to hash things out. There was no excuse for not bringing up issues. But Edmonds was away right now, and Mangum was stuck working on something he didn't feel quite right about but had promised Edmonds he would get done. The deadline was in a few hours. The more he looked at it, the less he liked it. He knew he could leave a voicemail for Edmonds and try to cancel the whole thing. But he couldn't decide whether to pick up the phone