Sam is a brave and inspirational leader.
A true trailblazer. He has influenced my thinking and many other leaders, too.
–Tom Weldon, CEO, Penguin Random House
sam has spoken for
navigating uncertainty
An interactive SESSION that will reframe a team's relationship with uncertainty and change, and provide shareable tools for anyone going through transformation.
Overview:
This session is funny, thought-provoking, and evidence-based. It is backed by four years of data from Sam’s research experiment, Uncertainty Experts, and his forthcoming book, The Uncertainty Toolkit.
This talk combines storytelling and science, leaving the audience with a measurable increase in their Uncertainty Tolerance (UT) and practical tools and takeaways.
Features:
Interactive ‘live’ experiments
Exclusive data and insights from global research
Unforgettable case studies of ex-smugglers, refugees, gang leaders, etc.
Takeaways:
The Psychology of Uncertainty Tolerance
Tools for decision-making and problem-solving in the unknown
A unique and proven methodology for transforming uncertainty
Perfect for:
Teams experiencing change fatigue or going through transformations
Leaders facing unprecedented challenges
All settings, from online webinars to full away days and offsites
Sam never fails to deliver every session with the enthusiasm, passion and humour as though it was the first time. The Uncertainty Experts training was thought-provoking and insightful, really challenging us to change our way of looking at uncertainty. People really welcomed being presented with scientific rationale alongside practical application – everyone who attended the session said it was brilliant and that they would apply their learning to both their professional and personal lives! Transformation at pace, at scale and in action!
–Kerry Inscker, CEO, Shaw Education Trust
Uncertainty Experts is an extraordinary feat of storytelling and science, it’s become an essential tool for our leaders and teams
–Rich Waterworth, GM, EMEA, Tik Tok
rewriting rules
A provocative and energising SESSION that shows how modern leaders and teams can adapt the rebellious spirit of history’s most successful rule-breakers to drive change, rethink strategy, and reignite purpose.
Overview:
Based on the bestselling book and global movement, Be More Pirate, this session helps audiences understand how to rewrite the rules—not just break them—and provides practical tools for driving cultural change from within.
Features:
The true history of pirate rebels, reimagined for modern leadership
A five-step “pirate code” framework for positive rebellion
Live case studies from Pirate communities in business, education and activism
Takeaways:
How to identify and challenge broken rules in your team or industry
How to build a movement from the inside-out
Tools to turn rebellion into strategy, and values into action
Perfect for:
Innovation, culture and strategy teams
Leadership teams seeking renewed purpose
Organisations undergoing reinvention or reorganisation
We called on Sam and Alex to introduce some Pirate spirit into OMD UK, empowering our teams to question entrenched ways of behaving that were no longer serving us well. This highly practical intervention shone a spotlight on what we needed to change, and enabled us to embrace bolder, braver choices that set us up for future success. From smaller, everyday changes to big, systemic disruption, Be More Pirate was the perfect enabler of these and everything in between.
–Gareth Orr, Managing Partner & Head of OMD Create
Be More Pirate" is what happens when TED Talks, punk rock and Harvard Business Review meet for a pint. It lit up our whole team.
–Will Hudson, Founder, It’s Nice That
I just wanted to follow up with another thank you for delivering a Be More Pirate book session for our Leadership School Alumni.
You gave us some really great practical insight that took into consideration participants’ actual challenges and the reality of working in the MoJ, exactly what we were looking for.
–Oliver Westlake, Leadership Consultant, Culture & Strategy, Ministry of Justice
Redefining Leadership
A bold, emotional and original SESSION that challenges outdated ideas of strength and offers a new blueprint for modern leadership grounded in emotional fluency, identity and courage.
Overview:
Based on Sam’s award-winning national social experiment, Hard As Nails, this talk explores how redefining masculinity isn’t just a social issue—it’s a leadership advantage. Drawing from hundreds of anonymous male diaries, this session is raw, funny, and deeply human. It’s designed to open up honest conversations in places that need them most.
Features:
Real stories from frontline workers, fathers, creatives, and CEOs
Anonymous data collected from the campaign’s 300+ participants
A brave, unusual and disarming format (nail painting optional)
Takeaways:
A framework for emotional leadership in high-pressure roles
New language for identity, values and integrity at work
How to build teams where strength looks different—but performs better
Perfect for:
Leadership offsites and internal culture days
Organisations seeking to modernise their view of strength
Environments where emotional honesty is undervalued but needed
SAM MAKES AN INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRESSING TALENT AND DEVELOPING LEADERS. HE’S A ROLE MODEL AND AN INSPIRING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR.
–Alexandra Mahon, CEO, Channel 4
PROFESSIONAL RULE BREAKING VS ROBOTS
a fresh, grounded perspective on what’s really going on beneath the noise. Rather than another talk about tools, trends, or tactics, this session explores why compliance has quietly become the default response to automation, and why that loss of confidence, curiosity, and judgement is the bigger risk. It reframes rule-breaking not as rebellion, but as a responsible, necessary mindset for navigating change.
Overview:
Sam has worked alongside behavioural scientists and leading AI engineers to design a series of cognitive prompts that help audiences experience this shift in real time. These prompts are engineered to increase cognitive flexibility, disrupt habitual thinking, and reframe participants’ confidence in their own judgement. The result is not instruction, but empowerment: a renewed sense of agency in what it means to be part of the first AI generation.
Key features:
A reframing of AI from a compliance challenge to a judgement challenge
A practical, psychologically grounded take on rule-breaking as responsibility
Interactive prompts that help audiences think differently, not just harder
A confidence-building lens on curiosity, discernment, and decision-making
An energising alternative to hype, fear, and AI fatigue
Takeaways:
Greater confidence and curiosity around AI and automation
A clearer understanding of when rules serve progress and when they block it
Practical mental tools that transfer beyond technology into leadership and work
A renewed sense of agency, optimism, and momentum in the face of change
Sam is re-writing the rules of modern business, he lives by his bold principles, and is therefore highly credible. My team have seen and done it all given their job working with C-Suite global businesses, day in, day out, and yet he energized and inspired them to a much bolder vision as a team. The very intelligent framework of Professional Rule-Breaking was wonderfully provocative and inspired a different type of dialogue over the ensuing days of the offsite.
– Leigh Thomas, Global Director of Client Partnerships, Facebook