While running a business and running a government require wildly different skill sets, both face similar demands from constituents – get it done, and get it done fast.

Voters want potholes filled and safe streets, stockholders want rising share prices and quarterly earnings. Against that pressure, politicians are fundraising for the next election almost as soon as the last one is over and CEOs are often forced into decisions that boost the bottom line in the short term but might have dubious long-term implications.

So, it was interesting to hear business and government leaders alike talk pretty consistently last week at the Milken Institute’s California Summit about taking the long view in their respective disciplines.

There was Dave McClure, founding partner of 500 Startups, talking about the need for the private sector to step up and take some responsibility for education as part of a job-growth strategy (“because we’re better at it”) on a panel on creative disruption. And Miguel Santana, L.A.’s chief administrative officer, saying on a panel about cities as engines of growth that we need municipal leaders who are thinking about “governing for the long term,” not just the period between elections.

It makes sense. Pervasive problems are not cleared by a silver bullet, much as we’d like them to be.

The problem is that there is so much pressure from voters and shareholders for a return on their investment that taking the long view is not only hard, it often goes unrewarded. Look at L.A.’s rail system, now in the midst of a monumental expansion that was begun under the administration of Antonio Villaraigosa. He’ll at best get to stand onstage, off to the side, at forthcoming ribbon cuttings.

It’s an argument investors like Tony Pritzker, interviewed in this issue, avoid by keeping their portfolios closely held and being patient.

Not everything is a short-term winner, but being thoughtful, strategic, and thorough (and patient) should ensure ample reward.