(FORTUNE Magazine) – JIM COLLINS The writer of such bestsellers as Built to Last and Good to Great, Collins, 45, is the most influential management thinker alive.

STEVE JOBS Every move of Apple's 48-year-old founder and creative force is aped, from the eclectic designs and materials he incorporates into his computers to the cutting-edge animation from his Pixar Studios.

HOWARD SCHULTZ Starbucks' 50-year-old chief global strategist has the power to make us all think it is perfectly normal to plunk down $3 for a cup of coffee. (And last week 20 million of us did.)

PAUL STEIGER As editor of the Wall Street Journal--the paper that posts the agenda for American business--Steiger, 60, can move markets and strike fear into the hearts of CEOs everywhere.

OPRAH WINFREY The merest nod from the daytime talk queen, 49, can launch a national trend--or a book-buying binge.