There has been a lot of talk about executive pay lately, with both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal running articles about bargain-rate CEOs and those that generate more bang for the shareholders’ buck.

But what these stories lacked, Cramer said Monday, was a grasp of what truly defines a CEOs worth. There’s a difference between the value created by managers and that created by markets. And it’s more than just a case of looking at the stock. Plenty of other metrics need to be included if you’re going to figure out what a CEO means to his company.

Cramer thinks Starbucks’ Howard Schultz and Ford Motor’s Alan Mulally right now are two of the best execs in the business. Both of these guys have done something few others could have: They turned around failing companies during one of the worst economy since the Great Depression.

“Now that’s worth big bucks for the shareholders,” Cramer said. “Frankly, you can't pay a turnaround artist enough.”

So, how’d they do it? And what were the metrics Cramer used to judge them? Watch the video for his full report.

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