We take the simplest devices for granted in our technologically advanced modern world. We open a faucet and water comes out, hot, warm and cold. We flick a wall switch and darkness is overcome by light. We open the refrigerator door and peer into a compartment containing climate-controlled stored food. These conveniences are ubiquitous in the developed world at the beginning of the 21st century.

And yet we give little thought to the simplest and most important inventions that make all forms of products possible. Consider the humble screw. Yeah, the little clamp-on vehicle that’s ubiquitous in every toolbox, prepackaged do-it-yourselfer, or kitchen drawer. The ability to join two opposing elements or surfaces and ensure that their joint is permanent is essential to the structural integrity of virtually all non-consumable products we use today.

Nobody knows who invented the screw. We know that wood screws were in use during the time of Christ. They were widely used in the Middle East for pressing grapes for wine, olive oil production, and woodworking. The applicable uses of screws didn’t really change much until the 18th century. James Ramsden, an Englishman, invented the first “screw-cutting lathe” to mass-produce steel screws in 1770. This advancement made screws more economical, and their use in industrialization processes began to increase exponentially.

In the 1930s, Henry Philips, in response to the automotive industry’s growing need for tighter tolerances, invented the Philips head screw. This square head screw was a significant advance as it allowed machine tools to apply more torque to the head of the screw, thus providing a much tighter fit and finish between joined parts.

Billions of screws are now used each year in millions of applications. Screws of all sizes and metal composition are essential for all the products we manufacture. As useful and universal as the common screw is in our lives, we never really reflect on its importance, its efficiency, its economy, and what the world would be like without these nifty little connecting devices.

Here is a contemporary lesson. The simple screw has made life easier and more convenient for all consumers. Jobs are created to produce bolts, distribute bolts, and use bolts. Prosperity is enhanced by the usefulness of this simplest of all inventions.

Many entrepreneurs and inventors seek to improve lives and commercial gain by creating innovative new products. The lesson we can all learn from the Commoner Screw is that sometimes the most valuable and useful concepts are the simplest. You don’t have to reinvent the transistor or figure out a new water desalination system to make a profit. Digging into your work, family or play universe and finding a simple improvement that benefits consumers is the easiest path to business success.

At my consumer product development and marketing consulting company, we review hundreds of product submissions each year. The best, the most commercial ones are inevitably the simplest. They offer the greatest utility to the greatest number of consumers. Typically, these concepts do not require re-education of the consumer, which can be a difficult and expensive proposition.

So keep it simple and apply the simple “screw” test to determine simplicity, ease, cost-effectiveness, and applicability. This is a wonderful template that can be transferred from an old product to modern inventions to determine the prospects for success.