Comment by RyanOD
2 days ago
I had something like this happen to you me once, though not at Apple.
I was quite young in my career and ended up on an elevator with the CEO. I got super nervous and just started running my mouth about something I perceived as a problem within the organization (!).
On Monday he called me into his office and reamed me. Though I don't think chewing a young employee out in such a situation is the best approach, I'd say I at least deserved a, "Ok, listen youngster..." sort of dressing down.
My boss pulled me aside later and said, "Don't ever talk to a CEO. Nothing good can come from it." I followed that advice the rest of my career.
Oh and the CEO canceled my end of year bonus. :)
My father, a blue collar immigrant worker, did the same thing in his 40s. His CEO had an open door policy so he went in and expressed concerns. That day, he learnt that an open door policy is a massive red herring and got reamed for disturbing the CEO. It was all performative - they don't actually care.