Mintzburg’s managerial working role model is used to explore the ways roles and behavior of the general manager of a user-oriented firm differ from those of the manager of an investor-owned firm (IOF). It is argued that, in the roles of conflict resolution, resource allocation, information spokesperson, and leadership, the challenges of a user-oriented manager are not only significantly different but often more difficult. It is concluded that managers comfortable with complexity; technical-operation, people-oriented resource allocation; multi-stakeholder communication; and with strong coalition- building skills are most successful in user-oriented organizations.