You shouldn't always optimize for the long term. You should optimize for the reality of the environment that you're in. In large, public companies, that usually means looking ahead normally 1-2 quarters unless there are exceptional projects with leadership buy-in.

Unless you're working on the absolute cutting-edge, you don't need every member of the team to be at the top of their game. It's happened many times in sports that a team full of too many superstars underachieves.