In an era in which headlines decry the dishonesty of some corporate leaders, we tend to overlook more inspiring business stories. This is one of those stories.

While some energy companies were playing fast and loose with the new rules of deregulation — cooking the books to inflate the price of their stock — KeySpan maintained the sort of good corporate citizenship that many people thought impossible. And while other energy businesses imploded in a wave of misguided management and dishonest accounting, KeySpan’s leadership was characterized by its steadfast belief in doing the right thing and embracing the very best that its employees and the communities it served had to offer.

The CEO and the Monk describes the unlikely partnership of a savvy CEO and a former monk who led their company to the top even while embracing a higher set of business standards. It examines KeySpan’s success from the perspective of Robert Catell and Kenny Moore, who have formed an unusual but potent relationship that has enabled the company’s rise from a small local utility monopoly to one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing energy providers. It has done so by adopting the values of the community it serves and espousing a management philosophy that brought caring and a sense of soul into the workplace. The results not only improved the bottom line, but forged a corporate culture with meaning.

Unlike other business books that claim to offer lessons in ethical leadership, The CEO and the Monk goes beyond the theoretical into the real world, where commerce and spirituality rarely intersect. This is a true account of a real business, with real business leaders and tough issues to overcome. Faced with deregulation, traumatic mergers, a slowing economy, the terror of 9/11, and a shifting business landscape, Catell and Moore infused KeySpan with a sense of values — without ever losing sight of the bottom line. Theirs is a story that will resonate with corporate leaders who want to lead as well as inspire their organizations.