Michael "Bret" Hood
MBA, CFE
NC, USEvery instruction I do is completely interactive from inception. I rely on experiential learning to keep audiences engaged and entertained.
After serving 25 years as a Special Agent in the FBI, Michael "Bret" Hood became the director of 21st Century Learning & Consulting, LLC upon his retirement in 2016. During his tenure with the FBI, Bret led and served in three different divisions finishing his career by spending the last four years as an adjunct professor of leadership for the University of Virginia at the prestigious FBI National Academy.
In 2010, Bret was selected to be part of an elite team tasked to develop a new executive leadership program for the FBI. As such, Bret joined the FBI Academy staff in 2012 and created unique and interactive courses on the psychology behind leadership, executive leadership, ethics, decision-making and contemporary issues in leadership. In addition to these duties, Bret has led over 70 international delegations on behalf of the FBI teaching our foreign law enforcement partners about leadership, financial crimes, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption prevention and investigation. Bret has also worked with various private sector entities facilitating discussions about the psychology of the leader/follower relationship. Recently, Bret was chosen to be a guest speaker at Europe's top-rated leadership seminar hosted by the IMD business school.
Since retiring, Bret has traveled around the world teaching leadership and financial crime to members of various public and private sector entities, which include among others, Coca-Cola, Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, Google, Kansas City Police Department, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Bret is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Eat More Ice Cream: A Succinct Leadership Lesson for Each Week of the Year.
See what people have said about Bret's courses:
"I have a master's degree in leadership but Agent Hood's course took me places where I had never been." – Police Executive from Washington
"I never knew money laundering training could be fun and exciting." - Fortune 500 company Investigative manager
"I was disappointed when Bret's fraud class finished because I wanted to learn more." - Fortune 500 company mid-level manager
"I've been to almost every military leadership course offered and I have never learned as much about leadership as I did with Special Agent Hood!" – Police Executive from Mississippi
"His insight and ability to always ask the right questions, to push that button in your mind that sends you into a tailspin. The comment that makes you stop and rethink your whole outlook on life and the way you see things. The lessons learned can be applied professionally, but will have the greatest impact personally." – Police Executive from New Jersey
"I've been to a number of interviewing training sessions and even with all of that experience, Bret taught me things I never knew." Fortune 500 company investigator.
"Every day, we just started talking in Bret's class and somewhere along the way, Bret turned the conversation into something memorable and relevant because by the time I left the classroom, I realized I had learned something about myself that I had never previously considered." - Police Executive from Kentucky
"Bret had an uncanny way to get everyone involved no matter the topic. He can get you rethink the way you look at things and push you to see others perspectives. After spending ten weeks with Brett I knew that I would leave there a much better and more rounded individual, one that was able to apply what I had learned not only to my department but to my family." – Police Executive from North Carolina
After serving 25 years as a Special Agent in the FBI, Michael "Bret" Hood became the director of 21st Century Learning & Consulting, LLC upon his retirement in 2016. During his tenure with the FBI, Bret led and served in three different divisions finishing his career by spending the last four years as an adjunct professor of leadership for the University of Virginia at the prestigious FBI National Academy.
In 2010, Bret was selected to be part of an elite team tasked to develop a new executive leadership program for the FBI. As such, Bret joined the FBI Academy staff in 2012 and created unique and interactive courses on the psychology behind leadership, executive leadership, ethics, decision-making and contemporary issues in leadership. In addition to these duties, Bret has led over 70 international delegations on behalf of the FBI teaching our foreign law enforcement partners about leadership, financial crimes, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption prevention and investigation. Bret has also worked with various private sector entities facilitating discussions about the psychology of the leader/follower relationship. Recently, Bret was chosen to be a guest speaker at Europe's top-rated leadership seminar hosted by the IMD business school.
Since retiring, Bret has traveled around the world teaching leadership and financial crime to members of various public and private sector entities, which include among others, Coca-Cola, Maricopa County Sheriff's Department, Google, Kansas City Police Department, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Bret is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Eat More Ice Cream: A Succinct Leadership Lesson for Each Week of the Year.
See what people have said about Bret's courses:
"I have a master's degree in leadership but Agent Hood's course took me places where I had never been." – Police Executive from Washington
"I never knew money laundering training could be fun and exciting." - Fortune 500 company Investigative manager
"I was disappointed when Bret's fraud class finished because I wanted to learn more." - Fortune 500 company mid-level manager
"I've been to almost every military leadership course offered and I have never learned as much about leadership as I did with Special Agent Hood!" – Police Executive from Mississippi
"His insight and ability to always ask the right questions, to push that button in your mind that sends you into a tailspin. The comment that makes you stop and rethink your whole outlook on life and the way you see things. The lessons learned can be applied professionally, but will have the greatest impact personally." – Police Executive from New Jersey
"I've been to a number of interviewing training sessions and even with all of that experience, Bret taught me things I never knew." Fortune 500 company investigator.
"Every day, we just started talking in Bret's class and somewhere along the way, Bret turned the conversation into something memorable and relevant because by the time I left the classroom, I realized I had learned something about myself that I had never previously considered." - Police Executive from Kentucky
"Bret had an uncanny way to get everyone involved no matter the topic. He can get you rethink the way you look at things and push you to see others perspectives. After spending ten weeks with Brett I knew that I would leave there a much better and more rounded individual, one that was able to apply what I had learned not only to my department but to my family." – Police Executive from North Carolina
Ethical Leadership
Learning Objectives: After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:
• Create a working definition of leadership
• Discuss the...
Why You (And Everyone Else) Aren't As Ethical As You Believe
In this completely interactive exercise, participants will learn how their mind will alter and transform facts and situations in order to achieve personal desires over organizational goals. These transformations occur automatically in the sub-conscious mind and without establishing proactive methods to mitigate these processes, organizations may inadvertently be promoting unethical behaviors by their leaders and employees.
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Creating An Ethical Organizational Culture
News of corporate scandals and individual malfeasance makes headlines almost every single day. Despite these very public examples, numerous people continue to stray from their ethical baselines. While most organizations try to stem opportunity through stronger and better internal controls, they often ignore rationalization and motivation. In this block of instruction, participants will learn how to improve their internal control system and create a more ethical...
Deviations from Ethical Norms: An FBI Case Study
We often wonder why and how people are moved to take unethical actions. In this article, we will use a case study of fraud to see how people do not always clearly see ethical dilemmas, how people rationalize their behaviors, and how the brain unconsciously alters and transforms situations to remove ethical components from decision-making.
After this session, participants will be able to:
- Define illusory...
The Brendan Dassey Confession: Lessons for Interviewers
In the Netflix series, Making A Murderer, 16-year-old Brendan Dassey confessed to participating in a murder, but there are many opinions regarding the validity and accuracy of the confession. Using snippets and statements from the actual confession, participants will dissect the interviewer's role critiquing what went right/wrong while also discussing how to utilize these findings to perform better interviews in the future.
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Willful Blindness: Why We Fail To See What We Need To See
Does your position in the organizational hierarchy affect your ethical decision-making process? How much do your self-esteem and self-confidence affect your willingness to go along with or go against unethical acts? In this course, you will discuss remedies to how your brain alters, transforms, and completely ignores relevant facts so that you can do what you want instead of what you need to do.
Learning Objectives: After this block of instruction,...
I Would Never Do That! How Your Brian Circumvents Ethics & Compliance Efforts
Organizations spend millions of dollars in an attempt to ensure their employees act ethically. What if the latest scientific research shows many of the methods used today to promote ethicality actually perpetuate unethical behavior? In this block of instruction, you will learn why most current systems are ineffective and how to create an ethics and compliance program that will make your employees more ethical and more willing to follow prevailing policies and...
Why People Lie
Do you wonder if there are ways to proactively address the fraudster's rationalization process? While many internal control systems focus on limiting opportunity, there are certain things that can be done to affect motivation and rationalization. In this session, you will learn about the latest scientific research on dishonesty as well as how to incorporate these findings into your internal control system.
Learning Objectives: After this block...
Influencing Others
Are you in a position where you need to influence others? In this class, participants will learn scientifically proven ways to get people to behave in certain ways. Whether you need to influence up or down a command chain, this interactive exercise will keep you thinking for a long time.
Learning Objectives: After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:
- List 5 influencing styles.
- Compare and contrast the 3 influencing...
Motivating Others
Do you have trouble motivating others? In this class, students engage in an interactive game where they debate different ways to motivate people. Based on a number of scientific studies, students learn how old management methods actually diminished motivation and how they can apply new techniques to increase the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of others.
Learning Objectives: After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:
- Explain...
Leading In Difficult Situations
When leaders are faced with crisis, many often fail. In this exercise, students are placed in a crisis situation and assigned different levels of organizational responsibility. Using open discussion and peer review, students analyze different ways to lead when things are difficult.
Learning Objectives: After this block of instruction, the participants will be able to:
- Given a scenario, develop methods to attain credibility as a leader
- Given a...
Virtual Presentation
Virtual Presentation
Virtual Presentation
