What did Jobs actually build himself? My understanding was that man was technically inept.

Saying "no" to off-topic / dumb ideas in a consistent way is an amazing product development skill.

It's like carving away all of the marble that doesn't look like David.

Neal Stephenson wrote a really great Substack about art and how it's the end product of many small decisions. That's exactly what Jobs did on the hardware he worked on.

https://nealstephenson.substack.com/p/idea-having-is-not-art

Far enough, because I will even concede that after Jobs died, Apple has never been the same. Cook has been serviceable, but I haven't really been comparatively thrilled with anything to come out during his tenure.

Technically inept is acceptable as long as he could communicate well. The man consistently had clear vision and the ability to communicate that vision to those who were around him.

He told other people what to invent, all whilst leaving his Mercedes in the disabled parking spot.

That's an achievement.

Products? I mean at the end of the day (as long as you consistently pick the right people/tools for the job) technical part is just an implementation detail.