They rise to the occasion in times of political crisis, but truly transformational leaders who change the world for the better remain rare in business. Which is why Steve Jobs is so fascinating.

For the past 29 years, ever since he built the first Apple computer in a garage, Jobs has been a commercial innovator, cultural inspiration, and entrepreneurial icon. He's an iconoclast who has enhanced our society's digital self-image.

Jobs's passionate perfectionism, a contradictory blend of hot temper and cool temperament, is embedded in the soul of many new machines--iMacs, iBooks, iPods--and he has almost single-handedly altered the way we compute, play music, and view video. Says Victor Vroom, the John G. Searle professor of organization and management at the Yale School of Management: "[Jobs] is the supreme example of the transformational leader who stands for higher order values . . . he has caused people to do things they might never have done before."

Aura. In the process, the 50-year-old Jobs, usually clad in jeans and black turtleneck, has established an aura around his "insanely great" products, which are beautiful and brash, fabulous and functional. Have you ever run your thumb around the iPod's sleek, smooth click wheel? Do you remember the tutti-frutti bubble iMacs? And what about the plastic elegance of the all-white iBooks? This is technology but much more than bits and bytes; this is fashion but hardly iCandy.

Jobs himself has been labeled a saint, a sinner, and now a saint again. A college dropout, he inspired a generation of rebellious start-ups, was cast out of his own company at 30, and then wandered in the wilderness until it was time to come home and rescue his business as a creative crusader.

Last year, Jobs cheated death and escaped a cancer scare; this year, Apple will generate robust revenues, and its stock is bristling with good health. Jobs was lucky. We are, too. Because our lives are different and much more interesting with this man leading us to the land of what's next.

BORN: Feb. 24,1955 EDUCATION: Reed College, one semester FAMILY: Married, four children LUCKY BREAK: Took a course on calligraphy after dropping out; 10 years later, as a result, the Mac became the first computer with distinctive and elegant typography ADVICE: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do."