The team agreed to rationalize dramatically a complex lease-pricing schedule that had been confusing and aggravating to dealers and their customers. The new schedule also simplified categories of customer creditworthiness, which had been yet another source of dealer angst. Most importantly, Winkler agreed to change the way that Ford Credit calculated lease residual values, which allowed for lower monthly lease payments. Ford Credit would take a lower margin -- but Ford Motor would sell more cars, which in turn would allow Ford Credit to make more loans.

Many of the changes were put into place within 48 hours. Ford Motor's U.S. car sales rose almost instantly. And Ford Credit's lending contracts went up as well. In June, Ford Credit financed 54% of all the cars Ford Motor sold -- up from 46% a year earlier. In practice, it is nearly impossible to finance a higher percentage. In large part because of that performance, Ford Credit's operating profits in the first six months of this year totaled $741 million -- up 17% from the first half of 1999.

As stunning as the company's financial performance has been, Winkler is forging something even more remarkable at Ford Credit. He is changing the way that people talk, think, and behave. He is creating a place, he hopes, where people are accountable for their work; where openness and honesty dictate communication; where respect and trust determine relationships; and where "everyone," as he says, "is on the same level." Every idea counts.

After every meeting, after every transaction, Winkler sends an email message to the people involved: "Here's what just happened, this is what we did right, this is what we could do better next time." He expects members of his executive team to do the same after their meetings. He writes regular "love letters" to the people who report directly to him. The dispatches detail the people's strengths, their weaknesses, and their strategies for personal improvement; the messages are the start of a dialogue to move those people to the next level -- from good to great.

"You'll know that you've got a real breakthrough when the values change in a place," Winkler says. "Sure, you won't see it overnight. You may see some numbers come up positive. But you have to look at the culture of a place over three to five years to see if you've really made anything happen."

Elizabeth Acton, 49, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Ford Credit: "Don has made me more sensitive to my role as a leader, more aware of the shadow that I cast. Lots of people watch us, so my behavior is elevated out of the day-to-day. I think more strategically about it. What signals am I sending? What's my body language saying? Where am I on the mood elevator, and how does that affect people around me? Don has sensitized me to that."

Every morning, Don Winkler wakes at 3 AM. He begins each day with 20 minutes of mental calisthenics: simple exercises that help point his brain in the right direction. It is not something he particularly enjoys, yet he requires himself to keep at it. He feels that he cannot be effective otherwise.

"When I did my warm-ups this morning," he says, "I was teary-eyed. I thought, There are people who don't have to do all this. My productivity could be so much higher. Other people wouldn't do it this way.

"But that's good and bad. I'll do something outrageous, and people will think that I'm a bit strange. But then, that's okay. That's good. Let's be a little outrageous."

Keith H. Hammonds (khammonds@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior editor. Contact Donald Winkler by email (don@cyberwink.com), or learn more about him on the Web (www.cyberwink.com).

Sidebar: What's Fast

Donald Winkler, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Credit Co., never misses a chance to preach the virtues of "breakthrough leadership." For much of his career, he has been breaking the rules for what business leaders do. Here are his 10 principles for effective leadership.

1. Set real priorities and real commitments.
2. Grab hold of tough problems, and don't delegate them.
3. Don't let the guy below you make the hard decisions.
4. Set and demand standards of excellence.
5. Create urgency! It's always better to do something than it is to do nothing.
6. Pay attention to details. Getting all of the facts is the key to good decision making.
7. Be committed, and show it. Concentrate on possibilities.
8. Be willing to see failure as a stepping-stone to success.
9. Be tough and be fair with people. Avoid compromise when choosing coworkers.
10. Last but not least: Play! You can't accomplish anything unless you're having fun.