Customer Reviews

The CEO and the Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose

5 star:		(9)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally, good news from inside the Corporate World! As the media focus our attention on corporate wrongdoing, the show trials of the rich and powerful, stratospheric salaries of greedy CEOs, and the "unaccountability" of managers and Wall Streeters comes a heartwarming and inspiration story of a Fortune 500 company with a soul.

The CEO and the Monk is the inside story of Keyspan's dramatic growth over the past decade, of its hands-on CEO, of the difficulties encountered as the "family" of a 100-year old, conservative utility absorbs the shocks of mergers and acquisitions and grows from $1 billion to $6 billion in revenues, tripling its workforce. All the while maintaining a clear focus on doing the right thing...and blowing the numbers out of the water while not losing its soul, as one financial analyst observed.

Bob Catell, Chairman of Keyspan, one of the nation's leading energy providers, is the CEO in the title. He's a career employee whose soft-spoken style and ready smile hide the tough inner man who created a whole new company amidst the chaos of de-regulation. Tough, smart, caring and candid about what it took to achieve his vision, he points out this was the opposite of the "asset-lite" and high-flying Enron of the 1990s. Same industry, similar starting point, different leaders...much different results.

Kenny Moore was a real monk who after 15 years left cloistered life in the monastery to rediscover himself and pursue a career in the corporate world. Despite the odds of succeeding in Corporate America - no MBA, no useful business experience, and a serious bout with life-threatening cancer and then a heart attack - Kenny signed on in HR and rose to be Corporate Ombudsman at Keyspan. He became the conscience of the company, but not without struggle and self-doubt. He took risks along the way - even brashly staging a mock funeral for key employees as the old Brooklyn Union "died" and the new Keyspan was a-borning.

About the book: This a fast, enjoyable read, with three authors' voices leading you through the pages, with informative and lively stories about corporate and personal success behind the scenes. These are told in the first person by the CEO, Bob Catell, and the Monk, Kenny Moore. There's an interesting narrative thread to guide the reader as well, presented by the third story-teller, the skilled business writer Glenn Rifkin, a former New York Times reporter. This is a warts-and-all tale and belongs on the reading list for senior managers - and those who plan to be CEO one day.

Hank Boerner
Management Consultant
Corporate Governance Advisor
Rowan & Blewitt
Mineola, NY

March 10, 2004

... or the "jobless recovery", if more CEOs paid attention to employees like my friend Kenny Moore.

Okay, so I knew Kenny back in the seminary and should be biased. But my real bias went the other way. Who wants to read another corporate self-help book? Right now my TV is flooded with the trials and tribulations of Martha Stewart and Michael Eisner and how much the Donald spends to fire people for sport.

But I bought it and really liked it. How refreshing after all the corporate slime we have to endure. I've been through a big merger, and the culture clash and downsizing that followed. I once made the kind of remarks that described Kenny as "one opportunity to reduce headcount that won't negatively impact the business." What I never experienced was a CEO who really believed that people were his company's gretest asset. And backed it up by supporting visionaries like Kenny Moore.

The writer-CEO-monk dialog format works surprisingly well and overall it's a readable book. It doesn't try to be the final word on the events of 9-11, but shares how one segment of the NY scene handled it.

Congrats, Kenny, but you're still the only one I've ever heard describe that religious order in terms of "monks" and "monasteries".

I thought that the book is very timely. After experiencing the effects of the last 3 years in the market. Here is a refreshing view from a major company that makes the enron story even more appalling. Of course this also holds true for every other company that was run like a private piggy bank. The ceo's side of the story was very interesting. Here is a man with a clean conscience.
The book was very well written and an easy read. The monk's view was great to read; that there is room in corporate america for truth.
I would give this book the highest rating as a business read.Everyone can read this and come away with a good feeling of what can be if you try to do the right thing in this marketplace.

I found The CEO and the Monk a must read for anyone interested in gaining insight into how successful company cultures work--particularly during mergers. This book gives many interesting examples from how Brooklyn Union held a funeral to say goodbye to its old culture to how KeySpan (the company formed after a merger between Brooklyn Union and LILCO) executives drew pictures expressing their concerns about the company's future. Then it explains how the company responded to its employees concerns. The format is unique because it gives a voice to the very top of the company (the CEO) and employees (through the Monk). It's a study of how open communications can bring success, despite the many trials and tribulations that are highlighted in the book. I highly recommend it to anyone involved in or interested in bringing about change in today's business world.

You might think by looking in any large bookstore that every business book imaginable has been written. Then comes one like The CEO and the Monk that is as distinctive and refreshing as its title. The CEO and the monk give alternating views on the subject of each chapter, which means the topics never get boring. As an avid follower of American business, I was particularly pleased to see the emphasis expressed from page 1, the introduction: "What Is Good for the Soul Is Also Good for Business." That's a concept more executives should take to heart.

I'm not ordinarily a fan of business books, but I fell in love with this story about a company with heart, soul and a strong sense of moral responsibility and community. If we all lived our business lives like The CEO and The Monk, there would be no Enrons and all our bottom lines would be healthy.

There are so many places in the book that pull you up short and make you think, like the Monk's recalling words of Oliver Wendell Holmes: "Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us." I felt energized reading this book, inspired to start all over again and make a difference. I am sharing this book with my staff. And, I've been buying copies and giving to friends who work in the corporate world. BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

I work for an A/V company who does small trade shows and pharmaseutical companies. I ordinarally fall asleep during these presentations, but when Kenny hit the stage with his understated enthusiasm and wisdom about how the bottom lines of profit and spirituality can come together -- and make both bottom lines go up for all concerned -- I was transfixed.

All I do is run a sound board. I get a lot of free books from these shows, and to be honest I sell most of them on EBay.

I am keeping this one.

Rarely does a book deliver on the promise of an enticing title -but The CEO and the Monk does just that. Refreshing indeed is this surprising glimpse at a CEO who dared to seek new and unorthodox ways to engage and energize his workforce. That his partner in this extraordinary, often humorous journey, is a former monk and company employee - not highly-paid cadres of consultants, is even more remarkable. This unpretentious CEO and courageous monk could well provide the right role models for today's ethically-challenged corporate America.

I know Mr. Catell personally and he is a great man. This book truely shows that by exploring the company that he runs in such deepth. Moore is also a great man who added much to KeySpan's development and growth. It is a great read for anyone in the NY area an even better read for those who are not from the area and are aware of KeySpan's great success.

This book is great for anyone who is a CEO or owns their own business. Not only is it informative but it's entertaining as well.

Thanks for the book Mom!!