I recently sent a corrective action request to a director because after several attempts and notifications to get timely corrective action on another request, he failed to respond. After elevating the problem of late responses to the CEO (in accordance with our internal procedures) the director finally responded with the following in his own words for being late:
"The Director has recognized that timely corrective action is important. He is forced to manage urgency and simultaneously. He now understands that while urgent items must be addressed immediately, the important items must be addressed in a timely manner for the long term strategy. "The Urgent" often masqerades as the "The Important." The Director will hence use prioritization as a key to managing "The Urgent" and focusing on "The Important."
I promptly rejected the corrective action response.
Am I being too hard?
"The Director has recognized that timely corrective action is important. He is forced to manage urgency and simultaneously. He now understands that while urgent items must be addressed immediately, the important items must be addressed in a timely manner for the long term strategy. "The Urgent" often masqerades as the "The Important." The Director will hence use prioritization as a key to managing "The Urgent" and focusing on "The Important."
I promptly rejected the corrective action response.
Am I being too hard?