The CEO's Playbook.

Academy Publishing, Sacramento, CA

126 Pages, U.S. $19.95

This is not the kind of book one 3 buys. This is one of those rare books one buys in bulk. In less than the time it takes to follow a ball around an expansive golf course, one can read the "The CEO's Playbook" and learn how to negotiate the pitfalls and sand traps challenging today's executives.

As professional business communicators, we sometimes lament our perception that CEOs and those of similar functional ilk lack any morsel or clue about what public relations people do. We know, of course, that today's organizational communicator must know more about what CEOs do and what constitutes their frame of reference than the other way around. Unfortunately, we still fall into the "my boss just doesn't understand my job" trap.

Now there's a resource. Written by one of the stellar public relations minds of our time, Ron Rhody's "Playbook" leaps off the pages with freshness, insight and wit.

This concisely written book not only succeeds as an informative guide for CEOs, but also contains the kind and caliber of material appropriate for those professionals with CEO aspirations, small business owners, and those who either are engaged in public relations or manage the function.

The book's 35 chapters sparkle with varying measures of conventional wisdom, unconventional wisdom, and just plain "street smart" advice.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rhody in 1993-94 when he served as chairman of The San Francisco Academy/University of Florida certificate in senior public relations management program. Years after completing this one-year executive-level course, I still found myself poring over past classroom notes to review his sage observations on topics such as dealing with bad press ("I repeat, the near term effect of negative coverage on the bottom line is nil. Ditto the long term effect."), reputation management ("Performance alone almost never speaks for itself."), and why public opinion doesn't count ("The only opinions that make a difference, then, are the opinions held by your constituents upon which they are likely to act. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors."). I've discovered and rediscovered Rhody's pearls in "Playbook."

Today's top management is faced with shareholder concerns, public outrage, legislative demands, media inquiries, and regulatory hurdles -- to mention a few. These and other outside challenges are consuming growing amounts of time, Rhody asserts, and most senior executives from most American businesses "are woefully unprepared to deal with them.

"The executive cadre of a large portion of U.S. business is spending almost as much time dealing with these outside factors as in running the business in the traditional sense," he says. "The pressures are intensifying. Sadly, very few managers have had any training in dealing with these matters, don't fully understand the nuances and the consequences, and what little experience they have is picked up on the run and under fire, which puts them at a serious disadvantage."

Rhody's book certainly helps to even the odds.

One of my favorite chapters discusses the never-ending dilemma of defining the public relations function. "One of the curious aspects of the function is that the people who do it can't agree on what to call it. As a result of this ambiguity, most executives in most organizations have only the foggiest idea of what the tool can do and, consequently, very little idea of how to use it effectively."

The public relations function, he goes on to explain, "isn't about affairs or relating or communicating. It is about getting people to do something, not do something, or let you do something. The function is about affecting behavior and is a serious management tool that can do what no other single tool can do when properly used."

The book's easy read is due in part to its simplicity of style and engaging subject matter. In addition to its value in the corporate world, this book would make an outstanding supplementary text for introductory and advanced public relations classes, business communication courses, and, of course, executive training sessions. The sooner current and future business and public relations leaders learn about managing the external forces that shape success, the better.

Rhody's "Playbook" belongs in the hands of every CEO, public relations professional, business owner and corporate executive. As Rhody says, "Never believe what you hear, and only half of what you see." "Playbook" is the half worth believing. See for yourself.

Keith A. Sheldon, ABC, APR, is public affairs manager at Science Applications International Corporation and an adjunct public relations instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.