(FORTUNE Magazine) – Corporate big shots have big corner offices, right? Not Intel CEO Andy Grove. His cubbyhole is only slightly bigger than his co-workers', and working there, he says, ''is a little like having coffee in the square of a European village. From time to time you pop your head up to see who's around, and then everyone sticks his nose back in the newspaper.'' Grove leads the pack when it comes to rating total return to investors by < square footage of CEO office space (see below for examples). But the other chief execs willing to reveal their acreage need not hang their heads. Goodyear's Stanley Gault has engineered a phenomenal return to investors since getting the job in 1991: 74.5% annually. John Bryan, who's been running Sara Lee since 1975, has returned 31.5% a year over the past decade. Texaco's James Kinnear, who steps down April 1, returned 17% since 1987; Tenneco's Mike Walsh, 15.7% since 1991; and Arco's Lodwrick Cook, 14.6% since 1986.

Others were less willing to divulge state secrets. Said Ford Motor spokesman Terry Bresnihan: ''We'll probably read the story, but we think we'd be setting ourselves up for potshots.'' For the record, Ford CEO Harold ''Red'' Poling has returned a lemonlike 6.1% annually since he took the wheel in 1990. -- R.T.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CREDIT: FORTUNE CHART/SOURCES: FORTUNE, WORLDSCOPE CAPTION: NO CAPTION