Thinknado

Season 2: Episode 4

We sit down with our friends John Bielenberg and Brandt Williams, creators of Thinknado, to explore how creativity, AI, and a willingness to “think wrong” can unlock more innovative solutions in taking climate action. Together, they discuss why AI shouldn’t replace human creativity, but instead challenge our default thinking, generate unexpected ideas, and spark entirely new possibilities.

John and Brant discuss the power of small bets, or low-risk experiments that build momentum for bigger change. They share practical strategies for helping designers navigate organizational roadblocks, gain buy-in, and make climate-forward decisions the norm instead of the exception.

If you’ve ever felt like your best ideas get shut down before they have a chance, this conversation is for you. Solving the climate crisis won’t come from doing what we’ve always done. We must question assumptions, embrace curiosity, and have the courage to think differently. The best way forward is to think wrong.

Listen on Spotify and Apple.

About our guests

John Bielenberg is a designer, entrepreneur, and imaginative advocate for a better world. He is the founder of Project M, and co-founder of Future, Common, and Thinknado.

John has won more than 250 design awards in his career, including the 2013 AIGA Gold Medal for leadership in the design for good movement. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art staged a solo exhibition of his work in 2000. In 2003, John Bielenberg created Project M, an immersive program designed to inspire and educate young designers, writers, photographers, and filmmakers by proving that their work—especially their “wrongest” thinking—can have significant impact on communities. Project M has developed projects in Alabama, Baltimore, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Detroit, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, Maine, Minneapolis, Montana and New Orleans.

In 2016, John co-wrote a book called Think Wrong that inspires people to conquer the status quo and do work that matters and in 2025 will launch Thinknado, an app that makes Ai think wrong to help generate creative solutions to big challenges.

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Brandt Williams is co-Founder Thinknado, entrepreneur, connector of dots and people. Brandt is a strategist and has a knack for transforming ideas into successful ventures. As a serial entrepreneur, Brandt has served as founder/co-founder/CEO for early stage ventures and well as an intrapreneur and CMO for Fortune 500 companies. Brandt cares most about mentoring people and teams to find their true purpose. Deeply invested in building a better future, Brandt strives to find new paths for creativity, sustainable livelihoods, and fulfillment.