"And last year, he carried me," Rucker continues. "But the point is, we've made everything open and transparent. I know what percentage of hours he's billing, and he knows my percentage. If Robb has people who are on the bench and aren't billing, I have an incentive to help him get those people off of the bench. I trust that man with my career, and I know he feels the same way about me. That's a different peer relationship than I've ever had at this company."

As the two men talked, they offered real-time, real human evidence that EDS has changed. After two years of effort, the culture -- that soft-and-fuzzy factor -- is working for the company. No one can predict whether the change will last. But for now, it's clear: The eagles are flying together.

Bill Breen (bbreen@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior editor. Contact Dick Brown by email (dickbrownmailbox@eds.com).

Sidebar: Reinventing the Brand

Soon after Dick Brown joined EDS, he realized that he and his team had to do more than reinvent the company -- they had to remake the brand. Dotcom mania was at a frenzy, but EDS was out of it. It was seen as an old-economy company in a new-economy industry.

To head EDS's global-marketing efforts, Brown brought in Don Uzzi, whose record included a marketing turnaround at Gatorade and a dismissal from Sunbeam by "Chainsaw" Al Dunlop. Brown wanted Uzzi to make EDS a household name. And there was a second, equally critical goal: to market EDS to EDSers. A cool brand could make people feel good again about working at the company.

After Uzzi arrived, he quickly decided to launch a new campaign at the biggest media event of all: the Super Bowl. It was a huge risk. The Super Bowl is for truly major advertisers, and EDS was nearly invisible in the ad world. Moreover, EDS would have to spend millions of dollars buying airtime -- before it could come up with the actual campaign.

Uzzi asked Fallon Worldwide, EDS's ad agency, to design a campaign that would let EDS poke fun at itself and that would show how the company solves complex issues for its clients. Fallon pitched three ideas; Uzzi settled on "Cat Herders." It would be shot in the style of a John Ford western -- big sky, big country, stirring musical score -- but it would feature rugged cowboys herding 10,000 house cats. "I thought that 'Cat Herders' would work because it was truly epic," says Uzzi. "When it comes up on the screen, it just stops you. And the metaphor captured perfectly what we do: We ride herd on complexity. We make technology go where clients want it to go."

Three weeks before the Super Bowl, Uzzi previewed the commercial at an off-site for EDS's top executives. Most gave it a standing ovation. But there were doubters. "I thought it was terrible," says EDS vice chairman Jeff Heller. "I asked Don if we could pull the ad and get our money back. Boy, was I wrong."

Indeed he was. "Cat Herders" won many of the biggest online polls for best Super Bowl commercial. Clients called from all over the world, asking for tapes to show at meetings. TV Guide published a listing of when the spot would run again. More important, Uzzi got email from all over EDS. The consensus: "Cat Herders" had put the luster back on the EDS logo.

Sidebar: Dick Brown on Change

How do you change an old, proud, but lagging company into a nimble, high-performing -- even cool -- competitor? Here are six of EDS chairman and CEO Dick Brown's catalysts for change.

The Straight Stuff, Straight From the Top: Every other week, Brown sends an email message to all 128,000 EDSers, telling them where EDS is going, how it will get there, and what challenges lie ahead. Each email is also an explicit call for dialogue, since anyone at EDS can write him back.

Go Off-Site to Get Close-Up: Two or three times a year, Brown convenes the company's senior executives for a three-day meeting. Leaders learn how to team by teaming.

Nowhere to Run to, Nowhere to Hide: Once a month, the top 125 worldwide leaders participate in an hour-long conference call, in which the CFO goes through the previous month's numbers for each executive. The call serves to make every EDSer's performance transparent.

Money Doesn't Talk, It Screams: Brown has introduced a pay-for-performance system that ranks every employee. Top performers are rewarded; poor performers are given the opportunity to get better.

Color-Coded Clients: Go, Caution, Crisis The company's "Service Excellence Dashboard" is a Web-enabled tool that lets clients rate EDS. It forces speed and collaboration.

Here's Your Coachable Moment!: Brown is a big believer in delivering real-time feedback, which he calls "coachable moments." The phrase has entered EDS's lexicon: "May I give you a coachable moment?" The goal is to make coaching a part of everyday behavior.