Unfortunately many in that second group can last a long time. The biggest problem with corporate America is too many guys with decision making authority focused only on short term gain or protecting the status quo, and not on growing long term value and taking the risks inherent to doing that.
I always try to hire people who are better than I am at the particular thing I'm hiring for. I want my Controller to be a better accountant than me, my FP&A guy to be a better modeler, etc.