PR advice for Governor Perdue

I just received this update from the Governor's office via e-mail:

Governor asks business leaders for ideas

Excepting the Governor's letterhead and Facebook/Twitter logos that aren't active links, that's all the text that was in the body of the e-mail. It's possible my e-mail system blocked other text, so I'll set aside my observation that giving me only a headline is ambiguous bordering on spooky.

My real PR advice is this: While it may be okay (or even recommended) that you seek feedback from various entities, stakeholders, etc., it's also not something you want to brag about too much. After a while, it takes on the aroma of incompetence: "Help! We've run out of ideas and are adrift in a sea of confusion!"

You might think that extending a hand to business leaders to have them join you in a team effort to come up with solutions to our problems "looks good", but it doesn't. Governors don't follow, they lead, and the people of our state (including businessmen) need to have a certain amount of faith in the Governor's ability to navigate these waters herself, without surrendering the wheel to whoever thinks they know the way.