The party who put this question up on LinkedIn suggested that Business Development is hunting and Account Management is farming. Carrying on the analogy I answered the question and I copied the answer below. The complete LinkedIn discussion is in the title link.
No community (business) survives with just hunters and farmers, so why prize one over the other. Farmers are often part-time hunters. Hunters are not always good farmers but a successful hunter can bring his game to the market. In this case, farmers and hunters share the objective of providing calories (money) to the community. When the hunter is searching for furs, it may be a matter of preserving calories (money) during a cold winter or of seeking adornments (recognition) because there is a surplus of calories.
The product life cycle is the landscape. Unless it is replenished it wears out and in that case the community dies off or moves on. A good Chief/Leader learns to replenish the soil early and often to postpone a die off. Not all managers are chiefs and not all chiefs are managers. However,The chief may lead in just one function or several. He is persuasive and farsighted so that the community relies on his judgment.
At some points you need the Inventor / Entrepeneur / Explorer. The hunter living off the land and looking for resources that will benefit the community.
You need the Shaman / Priest who inspires a community through fellowship or fear. This, of course, is the role of the HR Director. :)
There must be a parable out there which highlights this. Anybody know one?
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