On January 13, 2010, executives at some of the top banks in America stepped into a stately hearing room in Washington D.C.  Among those questioned by the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission was Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, which in 2009 ranked 15th on the list of the most admired companies in the world.

Nevertheless, during Blankfein's testimony (regarding patterns of transactions at Goldman Sachs that he insisted were simply "exercises in risk management"), the Commission's chairman would ultimately liken Blankfein to a sleazy used-car salesman.   For both Blankfein and Goldman Sachs, it was a painful and humiliating day, and we suspect it caused a shiver to go down the spine of more than a few other corporate titans.

The following week, when Goldman Sachs announced profits and near-record revenue for 2009, the company also announced that it was sharply reducing the percentage of revenues that went to compensation and benefits (including bonuses). Its pay pool was cut by $500 million, with that same amount then given as a gift to the Goldman Sachs Gives charitable fund. "What we attempted to do was to be fair to our people ... but to show restraint," said Goldman's chief financial officer.

While only time will tell, we believe that this is more than just a one-time event that will pass.  We expect it will prove to be a sign of a critical turning point, one of many indications that corporate greed is being returned to its appropriate place as a vice that will no longer be tolerated, rather than as a virtue to be admired.  Many forces combined to get us to this point, and the implications of the new focus on worthiness will play out for years to come.