Stop Uncertainty from Causing Decision Paralysis in Your Procurement Strategy

The past 12 months have brought with them much uncertainty for anyone working in procurement.

In April, the headlines were full of stories about the U.S. introducing and hiking reciprocal tariffs, throughout the year there has been much debate over AI replacing humans in the workplace, and now, as 2025 draws to a close, the talk is around the ‘black hole’ in the UK budget, inflation, taxation, and stagnant growth in the UK economy.

In uncertain times, there can be a tendency to draw out, delay, or shelve purchasing decisions. However, if we have learnt anything in recent years (and especially since the pandemic), it is that we need to accept that uncertainty will always exist and we must all learn to adapt or at least break free from ‘decision paralysis’ to thrive in our ever-changing environment. In fact, as the award-winning entrepreneur, social scientist and author of Uncertainty Experts, Sam Conniff explains: “Uncertainty is not inherently negative, it contains the capacity for both threat and possibility.”

In March, the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London will once again host the Procurement Strategies & Innovation (PSI 2026) conference that will help professionals navigate the evolution of the industry. This year the theme of the event is ‘Procurement Unlocked: Agile. Intelligent. Human’ and will look at how innovations in technology (including AI) can be harnessed, whilst at the same time strengthening the human skills – empathy, collaboration, and leadership that are critical to success and never more important in uncertain times.

Insights from the Uncertainty Experts

Sam Conniff will be joining procurement professionals at PSI 2026 to share insight into the scientifically validated Uncertainty Experts behavioural change programme, which transforms how individuals and organisations respond to uncertainty. As part of Media Zoo, the programme combines cutting-edge neuroscience with compelling storytelling to help people think sharper, act braver, and lead better.

During a keynote address entitled ‘Leading Through Uncertainty: Turning the Unknown into an Innovation Advantage’, Sam will explain how embracing uncertainty can unlock innovation, build resilience, and empower teams to lead with confidence amid complexity. In his keynote, he will explain how in moments of uncertainty, the winners aren’t the bravest but those who are most aware and adaptive. He will share how, by befriending uncertainty, your risk perception becomes more accurate, judgement improves and forward momentum returns. Consequently, every wobble isn’t treated as a catastrophe, you learn to act before you’re fully comfortable, not recklessly but responsively, and you will feel confident in making informed decisions, even when the path ahead isn’t fully clear.

Commenting on the world in which procurement professionals operate, Sam observes how: “You’re operating in a system of interconnected variables where every detail must be definitive, but every decision must remain open to change.” He adds: “Uncertainty isn’t always something to mitigate but sometimes it needs to be liberated. It’s a generative space — the birthplace of new suppliers, new routes, new products and new efficiencies.”

Sam is quick to stress how procurement professionals are experts when it comes to understanding risk, but this is not the same as uncertainty. “Risk is about variables and percentages, whereas uncertainty is about the genuinely unknown.” He continues: “If you try to approach uncertainty with risk models alone, you’ll miss opportunity, because the unpredictable is often where innovation lives.”

Practical tips for procurement professionals – How to worry less and do more

Ahead of Sam’s appearance at PSI 2026, his book ‘The Uncertainty Toolkit: How to Worry Less and Do More’ will be published in January. It includes the world’s largest study into how uncertainty affects people and distils these findings into practical tools designed to help individuals and organisations thrive in uncertain times. He will be sharing some of these insights that will resonate loudly with the vast majority of procurement professionals, along with sharing some invaluable yet practical tips, such as…

1. Ask: Is this uncertainty negative – or could it be positive? Don’t assume all unknowns are threats.

2. Separate risk from uncertainty. Use risk models where they work. But allow uncertainty to remain an exploratory space, not a calculation error.

3. Use micro-experiments. Procurement often carries enormous pressure because decisions carry an enormous impact. This can lead to over-analysis and delay. Alongside your major bets, run small, controlled tests: a new route, a niche supplier, an adjusted specification. You minimise downside while maximising learning, tuning intuition and judgement. Micro-experiments often become macro-solutions.

Specifically addressing business, department and team leaders directly, Sam has the following advice, “Leaders almost always have higher uncertainty tolerance than their teams and the person with the highest tolerance will assume everyone feels like they do.” He continues: “The most effective leaders understand their own tolerance level and consciously tune to their team’s. When organisations build uncertainty tolerance, paralysis becomes intelligence, and judgement becomes a competitive advantage.”

Make PSI 2026 a certainty in your calendar

Sam’s address at PSI 2026 will be one of over 20 keynotes, expert panels and interactive learning workshops that will include presentations and real-world case studies from organisations including AgentIQ Procurement, BP Digital Garage, Deliveroo, and Reach PLC.

The curated content programme for this CPD-accredited event will run across five educational streams, enabling delegates to create their own schedule. So, whether the objective is to seek out the latest digital innovations and AI applications, or insights into transformation, compliance, future trends and capability building, there will be a wealth of opportunities to learn and network.

The five curated content streams are:

1. Procurement at the Centre of Change
2. Strategy, Value & Compliance
3. Smarter Procurement Tech in Action
4. Innovation, AI & What’s Next
5. Empowering People & Procurement Teams

Running alongside the conference will be an exhibition showcasing leading procurement and supply chain solutions from organisations including Proactis, Mercato, FISCAL Technologies, Amazon Business, Ivalua, Anvil Analytical, Kodiak Hub, and Barkers Procurement.

New for 2026 is the opportunity to pre-book 1:1 sessionswith exhibitors, to discuss specific requirements and upcoming projects. If you are a solution provider looking to share and showcase your innovations and services, there are still a limited number of exhibiting opportunities remaining.

“In procurement, change is the only constant, but how we handle it is up to us,” says Sam Conniff.

Since its inception more than 10,000 procurement professionals have attended the Procurement Strategies & Innovation conference and exhibition. With 2026 promising more uncertainty, make your attendance on Tuesday 3rd March a certainty.

Register for your free delegate place today at: https://procurement.events

By Government Business and PSI 2026 opening keynote, Sam Conniff