Bloomberg News reports that Boeing Inc. (NYSE: BA) is delaying the delivery of its 787 Dreamliner into 2009. It already delayed it from May 2008 to November 2008 several months ago. This may well be the biggest business blunder of its CEO's stellar career.

Since I am writing a book about Boeing and its CEO James McNerney, I have been very focused on his career. And he has had an almost unbroken track record of spectacular success in everything he's done. He was a hockey and baseball player at Yale; went on to Harvard Business School for his MBA. Then he went from Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) to McKinsey & Co. to General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), where his 18-year career ended just short of succeeding Jack Welch.

After jumping from GE to 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), McNerney took over Boeing in 2005 and the company's stock rose dramatically until it became increasingly clear that Boeing would not be able to meet its original delivery deadlines for the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing now claims that the 787 will fly for the first time near the end of the second quarter of 2008 and won't ship to the first customer, All Nippon Airways Co., until 2009. Both dates were pushed back by about three months.

The New York Post reports on Corporate Leader magazine's poll of the top CEOs based on a survey of analysts and investors. Here's my assessment of the top five:

• Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). With its stock up 94.4% in the last year -- though 13% below its 52-week high -- Apple's new products this year have been outstanding. But it's a pretty pricey stock; it trades at a Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio of 1.56 on a P/E ratio of 42.3 and Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth of 27.2% to $6.26 in fiscal 2009.
• Eric Schmidt, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). With its stock up 27.8% in the last year -- though 15% below its 52-week high -- Google continues to take share from traditional advertisers while struggling somewhat to profit from all its innovations. But it's a somewhat pricey stock; it trades at a PEG ratio of 1.39 on a P/E ratio of 49.6 and EPS growth of 35.8% to $18.19 in 2008.

Remember four, five years ago when everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Boeing (NYSE: BA)? The company not only lost market share to Airbus SAS but ousted its CEO, Phil Condit, and his successor, Harry Stonecipher, for among other things having affairs with subordinates. Former CFO Michael Sears was sent to prison for his role in one of many Pentagon scandals involving the company.

Under Chief Executive James McNerney, who joined the plane maker from 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) in 2005, Boeing has managed to put its problems behind it. The company reported net income of $1.11 billion, or $1.44 a share on revenue of $16.5 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. Boeing also raised earnings, revenue and cash flow guidance for the year. It trimmed back its forecasts for 2008, but that's to be expected given the delays in the 787 Dreamliner and the slowdown in the defense business.

Shares of the Chicago-based company are up about 6% this year, underperforming peers Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) mainly because of worries about the Dreamliner. This reaction is overblown. First of all, the fact that new, sophisticated aircraft has been delayed is hardly surprising. If the delays continue however, that's more serious. For now, Boeing's customers haven't lost faith, placing 710 firm orders.

If the Dreamliner stays on track and the company gets its fair share of defense spending, the shares may head higher.

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