"Loser Thinking": What a Tech CEO's Reaction to a Safety Concern Teaches Leaders About Speaking Up

Rank Doesn't Lead · Nov 4, 2026 · 5m

An engineer asked for a few days to test new code for security holes. According to leaked messages reported by 404 Media, the CEO called the request nonsense and "loser thinking." After employees went public, he canceled a plan staff feared could cost them their jobs, and apologized: "I shouldn't have said some of the things I did to the people who helped build this company." Keith Clicque, a police chief in North Texas, shares three lessons for every line of work: mocking the person who raises a risk doesn't remove the risk, your words weigh more when you have the title, and the apology that…