Crisis Tales: Five Rules for Coping with Crises in Business, Politics, and Life

by Lanny J. Davis

Nobody ever calls Lanny Davis to give him good news. As a legal crisis manager, he’s the man public figures such as Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, U.S. representative Charlie Rangel, and companies such as Whole Foods, among many others, rely on to pull them through public scandal with their reputations intact.

Winning your case in a courtroom instead of the media is no longer a viable option. These days, every scandal is tried in the court of public opinion. Refusing to dignify allegations with an answer is grounds for flagellation by the press. Political insider Davis has spent years helping politicians, sports figures, business executives, and corporations through the biggest reputation crises of our times, and each case has aided him in the creation of five invaluable rules that absolutely anyone can use to protect himself from damaging hearsay— online and off.

In this fascinating and practical resource, Davis tells the real stories behind his famous clients’ very public scandals as he explains what he and his team did right, what they did wrong, and how they learned from their mistakes and successes. As impossible as it is to believe, many public relations experts still rely on the faulty Nixon model—deny, deny, deny. This tactic was detrimental not only to Nixon’s presidency but, for example, to Exxon and BP (not Davis’s clients) following major oil spills. Instead, Davis believes, it is important to tell the full story yourself, even if it means sharing unflattering details before they leak on their own. By getting ahead of the story, you have more control over how the information is reported and perceived in the media.

Damaging falsehoods can go viral in an instant, but the nation’s premier political spin doctor will teach you how to fight back.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2012

Reviews

[David Carriere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crisis Tales is an insider’s masterclass on navigating the treacherous waters of public scrutiny. Drawing on decades of experience managing the reputations of high-profile figures from Bill Clinton to Martha Stewart Lanny J. Davis distills real world crises into five actionable rules that any professional, leader, or individual can apply.

Through vivid case studies and candid reflections, Davis demonstrates how misinformation spreads rapidly, why conventional denial strategies often backfire, and how proactive transparency can protect credibility. Readers are given a rare glimpse into the decisions, pressures, and mistakes that shape high stakes crises, along with practical lessons to anticipate and manage their own challenges.

More than a manual, Crisis Tales is both compelling storytelling and a pragmatic guide for anyone who wants to maintain trust, authority, and control in unpredictable circumstances. It is essential reading for business leaders, politicians, and anyone concerned about reputation in the digital age.

[Gerry Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawyer and political gadfly Lanny Davis has enshrined his rules for managing crises in his Crisis Tales. Tell the truth, tell it early, tell it yourself. There’s a welter of experience he draws on from corporate fraud, to political scandals, to sport’s contretemps to foreign coups and controversies. But in the world of social media the first story often trumps the real story and is preserved in social memory. Davis relies on a fair media world but is ironically ambushed by the NYTimes that fails to check sources or the public record in the expedient of press deadlines in a story on Davis himself. I wish his conviction that persistence leads to truth prevailing were so but fear in today’s environment misinformation is not so easily dislodged.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A rather long ad for an immoral business of helping the political aristocracy do whatever unencumbered by laws or decency.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know Lanny so I'm a bit biased. He also gets a lot of crap for being too liberal to conservatives and too conservative to liberals. He is one of the few influential people that tend to be truly thoughtful and balanced...it's worth reading not just this book but also his other writings. Crisis Tales is full of common sense ideas and great stories, in a voice filled with honesty and pain in some cases. Having a daughter at Penn State makes the last section even more compelling for me. Good advice in this book for governments, corporations as well as you and me.

[Dave Hoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Lanny Davis was in the White House defending the Clintons I disliked him very much. Lately, when hearing him on the radio and interviewed on Fox News, I, or perhaps he, have mellowed a bit. Tho. we're on opposite sides in the political arena he appears to be an honest man. Book is about representing various people in a crisis, in bad troubles.

[Jack A. Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

What?? I agreed???

Lanny and I disagree politically and I rolled my eyes at him a couple of times while reading this book. However, his first rule of crisis management is a good one that I wish people of ALL persuasions would follow. Interesting stories, well told.