Howie Milstein has had enough. After many years participating with a multitude of communities, such as corporations, nonprofit organizations, boards of directors, and bowling teams, he’s finally mustered up the nerve to address the enormous elephant in the room. When leaders are dicks, the community is unhealthy, stakeholders are disengaged, and outcomes are marginal. In DBAFD, Milstein asserts that it’s incumbent upon leadership to promote and model strong, meaningful relationships throughout the community. At the basis of all relationships is trust, and while trust can be built through competency, reliability, and intimacy, it is easily destroyed when leaders’ raging egos are manifested too much of the time. While the author is permanently imbued with irreverence and utter distaste for conventional thinking, DBAFD strikes a balance between the lighthearted perspective that helps people swallow the sometimes bitter pill of self-awareness and the serious message that we all abut, and occasionally cross, the line of being a dick.

Not meant to be an exhaustive tome on emotional intelligence, leadership, and the art of seizing conscious control of natural impulses, DBAFD makes a concise, compelling case for treating others with respect and dignity. The book is perfectly suited to anyone in a leadership role, without regard to whether they possess a formal leadership title. In other words, it’s for everybody. And it makes a perfect gift for those leaders you want to send a clear message to!