Brad Hook · Author · Speaker · Founder

A human future.

Exploring what matters, what makes us human, and how we thrive in the age of intelligence. I'm Brad. I write books, give talks and build tools about how minds work and what helps people thrive. Founder of FLAME and the Values Institute.

Bradley Hook

5

Books published

114

Countries reached

1

Mission: a human future

What I'm about

I'm not just trying to help people suffer less. I want to help them live more.

Technology is changing almost everything about how we live. I'm fascinated by what's coming next, but even more interested in what makes us human: our curiosity, our creativity, our relationships, and our knack for finding meaning in things.

I think we have a real shot at building a better future. First, though, we need to understand what matters, how our minds actually work, and what helps people thrive rather than just cope. That's the work. It's serious, and it's also a lot of fun.

Trusted by leading organisations

PwCBridgestoneBayleysElectronic ArtsIcehouseForty SouthSedgwickOmni HotelsSport NZ
Brad Hook on stage, mid-keynote

The signature keynote

The Human Advantage

Creativity, curiosity and connection in the age of intelligence.

Machines are getting very good at the doing. What's left for us is the interesting part: imagining, questioning and connecting. This keynote looks at what that means for your people, and how to get better at it on purpose.

Also speaking on

Latest episode

The Stress Response Was Built to Save Your Life, Not Your Future

Brad delivered an engaging and insightful presentation on wellbeing and performance that resonated strongly with our audience. The session attracted excellent feedback from attendees, who valued the practical relevance of his FLAME framework and his engaging presentation style.
Ed Bartley · Business Capability Practice Lead, Sport NZ
What sets Brad apart is his ability to translate high-performance concepts into something tangible and actionable. We've seen the impact firsthand — not just in the moment, but in how our people keep applying the tools in their day-to-day roles.
Pauline McLaren · Head of People & Technology, Realty Group
His ability to bring together science, storytelling and practical ideas made the session incredibly relatable. Brad introduced the idea of our ‘body budget’ and how the everyday things we do, like sleep, movement, connection, nourishment and moments of calm, can either add to or draw from the energy we have available. Our people came away feeling energised, reflective and, as one person put it, ‘fired up!’
Emma Alexander · Safety and Wellbeing Team, Zespri
The FLAME full day workshop was an extremely engaging professional development opportunity for our team. Brad's authentic approach, expert facilitation, and ability to read the room created an environment that encouraged genuine reflection, connection, and learning. The practical frameworks with real-life experiences made the learning both meaningful and immediately applicable.
Melanie Boyd · Manager, Learning and Teaching, Open Polytechnic
Brad delivered an outstanding session for our team at our Connexa Connect Session. His content was engaging, practical and highly relevant to the challenges and opportunities our people face every day. He has a unique ability to make important concepts around mindset, performance and resilience simple, relatable and actionable. Our people left with practical tools, a shared language and plenty to reflect on. I’d happily recommend Brad to any organisation looking to build more resilient teams.
Brent Westein · Senior People & Culture Business Partner, Connexa
I've had the pleasure of working with Brad over several years while supporting the wellbeing and development of a globally dispersed organisation of around 160 people. Brad has a rare ability to combine deep expertise with genuine warmth and humility. From the resilience-based thinking that underpinned our early work together to the development of the Values Institute and now FLAME, Brad has continued to refine and strengthen his approach while remaining human-centred and evidence-based. I would recommend him without hesitation.
Organisational Development Leader · NZ Government
Quite honestly, the star of the two days training. His subject matter expertise was exceptional; delivery style was masterful and was a true inspiration to witness speak.
Programme feedback · Toyota
Bradley delivered an engaging, informative, and practical presentation that held everyone's attention and gave us plenty to reflect on. We would be happy to recommend Bradley to any organisation looking for a professional, insightful, and engaging speaker.
Glen Mackay · Managing Director, Orion Haulage
What a presentation — I honestly was blown away. All of what you presented resonated with me and my journey so far, from professional sport to my vocational life.
Brad Hepi · Training Manager, MITO — former professional rugby player and coach
Engaging, thoughtful and deeply practical. Everyone is still talking about it days later!
Jo Stansfield · Chief Technology Officer, Fortysouth
The majority of attendees rated the session a perfect 5 out of 5, and many highlighted Brad's content as a personal highlight of the programme.
Programme feedback · The Icehouse
Brad's stories are engaging, and certainly resonated with all of us. We can highly recommend Brad.
Bart Brichau · CEO & Managing Director, Teltrac
Absolutely brilliant, engaging, practical, and energizing.
Insurance Business Summit
Outstanding presenter, facilitator, communicator and educator.
Deborah Shephard, PhD
A special shout out to Bradley Hook, whose presentation skills were on a whole other TED Talk level!
Rishav Bhat · Avintis
My biggest takeaway was learning about his FLAME Method, a clear, actionable framework designed to help us “burn bright, not out” by redesigning our habits for the modern world. This framework is exactly what we need to sustain high energy levels, perform at our peak, and most importantly, avoid burnout.
Buddika Lakmal Priyadarshana · PhD Candidate, University of Auckland
Genuinely helps people improve their wellbeing and health.
John Bell · CIO, Fletcher Building
It was great to hear Brad talk, and I've had a couple of good wins coming out of the session. My three-year-old's sleep routine is down to about 30 minutes — it used to take a couple of hours!
Peter Jakowetz · Founder & Managing Director, PrivSec Consulting

Ready when you are.

For keynotes and workshops, enquire here. For programmes and tools, FLAME. For values research and the free assessment, the Values Institute. For everything else, say hello.