He was Disney’s most junior employee when he rewrote the CEO’s op-ed. Now he’s a CEO, with advice for Gen Z: ‘Don’t really ask for permission’ 

In the early 2000s, Josh Simon was fresh out of Harvard and working his first corporate job at the Walt Disney Company. As the most junior person on his team, he didn’t expect much interaction with Disney’s CEO, Michael Eisner.

But Simon had a skill that came in handy: Having written for The Harvard Crimson, he knew a thing or two about editing. So when his boss sent him an op-ed Eisner had written and asked what he thought, Simon didn’t simply send back a few thoughts. He took out his red pen and rewrote it.

The move might sound risky for a 20-something employee critiquing the work of one of the most powerful executives in media. But Simon said it ended up doing something he couldn’t have expected at the time: it put him on Eisner’s good side.

“I was like the most junior person in the company, and he was CEO,” Simon said. “And it started a relationship between us that continues to this day.”

For Simon, now the CEO of Funko—the $300 million (by market value) pop-culture collectibles brand— that experience taught him a career lesson he still carries with him: Don’t wait to be asked to contribute more.

“I do think if you are really good at your job, there’s always opportunities that I would say…like don’t really ask for permission, but find these little niche pockets where you can take on more work or do something extra that no one has asked for,” Simon, 48, told Fortune.

“If you’re really thoughtful about what that is, then I think........

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