Mosses

Mosses colonize bare rock - surfaces so hostile that almost nothing else can establish. Alongside lichens, they're the pioneer organisms of primary succession, creating the first organic matter and moisture-retaining surfaces where none existed. Mosses don't have roots; they absorb water directly through their surfaces. They don't have vascular tissue; they transport nutrients cell-to-cell. These limitations make them terrible at competition but exceptional at colonization. Where nothing can survive, mosses thrive.

Their role is pure facilitation. Mosses trap moisture and dust particles, building thin organic layers just millimeters thick - but those millimeters are enough. Once mosses have created that substrate, herbaceous plants can establish. Those plants grow larger, trap more organic matter, and eventually outcompete the mosses that enabled them. Mosses follow lichens in the succession sequence and are themselves displaced by grasses and herbs. They're a temporary stage, essential for progression but eliminated by their own success.

The strategic principle is uncomfortable: Sometimes your role is enabling the next stage, not reaching it yourself. Mosses teach that being good at colonization and being good at competition are often mutually exclusive. Organizations optimized for creating new markets (high-risk tolerance, low-efficiency infrastructure, generalist capabilities) are structurally different from those optimized for dominating mature markets (risk-averse, high-efficiency, specialist capabilities). Mosses don't try to become trees - they make room for trees, then get outcompeted. The role is no less critical for being temporary.