That's the observation of annual report guru Sid Cato, who monitors the world's key corporate communiqué. He cited, in the November issue of his Newsletter on Annual Reports, 20 CEOs whose letters to shareholders ran at least twice so long as the worldwide average, 3.2 pages. Among long-winded chief executives singled out were heads of the leading soft-drink companies, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. "An inability to speak one's piece and get off stage," he observed. "That, or an ego run rampant."

Cato annually picks the 10 best and 10 worst reports for Chief Executive magazine. This is his 15th year of making the selections. (Note: In its November issue.)

Best: Bruncor, Inc. (No. 1); St. Paul Cos. (2); Ford Motor Co. (3); Southern Co. (4); Armco Inc. (5); AFLAC (6); DQE (7); Chevron (8); Sonoco (9), and Reuters (10).

The 10 worst included, in order, Century Communications, National Semiconductor, RCN, Indiana Energy, National Beverage, Benetton Group, Unisource, DeKalb Genetics, Warnaco and, for the second year in a row, Monsanto.

"To be included among the best," he said, "an annual report must be exceptional across the board. The CEO must be involved in its preparation, particularly the letter to shareholders." He said "Each of the 10 best articulates a memorable theme and supports it forcefully throughout, in both design and editorial content."

Those to make the list of world's worst are guilty of a variety of infractions, from deceit to atrocious or inappropriate design to "inability to deal with reality."