Ecological Succession
Organizations undergo succession - fundamental transformations driven by how current activities modify their environments.
Success at one stage creates the conditions for obsolescence at the next. The pioneers don't fail - they succeed so completely that they transform their environment into one where they can no longer thrive.
Ecological succession is the predictable sequence of community development documented in recovering landscapes. Pioneer species colonize first, tolerating harsh conditions but growing slowly. These pioneers modify the environment in multiple ways: lichens secrete acids that weather rock creating primitive soil, nitrogen-fixing plants enrich nutrient-depleted substrates, vegetation provides shade that moderates temperature extremes and retains moisture. Over decades, communities progress through recognizable stages - pioneer herbs give way to shrubs, shrubs give way to early successional trees, which are replaced by late-successional species. Each stage creates conditions enabling the next while becoming less competitive under the new conditions.
Business Application of Ecological Succession
Organizations undergo succession - fundamental transformations driven by how current activities modify their environments. Pioneer businesses create market conditions, capabilities, and expectations that require evolved organizational forms. The purpose of your current business isn't just profit - it's creating assets for your next business.
Discovery
Frederic Clements (1916)
Established foundational theory of plant succession and climax communities
Ecological Succession Appears in 3 Chapters
Ecological succession is the predictable sequence of community development - pioneers modify environments, enabling successors while making themselves obsolete.
The mechanics of succession →Hunga Tonga's emergence enabled scientists to observe succession in real time, from bare rock to approaching climax community within a decade.
Succession observed in real time →The deterministic succession sequence - Pioneer → Early → Mid → Climax - maps onto market evolution, with different strategies optimal at each stage.
Forest succession as market model →