Bonika Wilson is a renowned advocate for change and diversity with over 26 years of experience in guiding businesses through complex organizational challenges. Now, Wilson is leveraging successful business practices to guide high-power couples in the application of these strategies to maximize results in their relationships and marriages. With a firm belief in the power of strategic planning, she brings her unique perspective from the corporate world to marital relationships. Her compelling journey from the financial sector to leading WCM Firm Incorporated, coupled with her transformative personal experiences, culminate in her latest book.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Bonika now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, Donta’, and their three children, Jalen, Dylan, and Baylor.

We had the amazing opportunity of sitting down with Bonika to discuss her career, relationships, marriage and advice for high power couples:

Bonika, your professional background is in guiding businesses through complex organizational challenges. Can you share how your corporate experience has influenced your approach to helping high-power couples in their relationships and marriages?

My corporate work is solution-based through strategic planning by focusing on a win-win approach. I approach solving marital challenges with that same model, first looking for aligned core values, next, focusing on building a sustainable model focused on winning, and last with very purposeful, mission-driven, and consistent actions that all contribute to winning in every area of your life, not just your marriage.

What inspired you to transition from the corporate world to offer guidance to high-power couples in their relationships? Can you share the turning point that led you to this path?

I still work with companies, but I decided to complete this book because I realized my DEI work in communities had to begin at home. In attempting to heal problems in communities, I was finding broken people. If we want to solve for safer communities and close economic, education, and equity gaps, we must begin solving for healthier families and healthy homes. One path to creating healthy homes is creating healthy relationships at home. That is why my focus includes working on strengthening relationships. Healthy relationships lead to healthy communities.

In your book, you mention the power of strategic planning. How can strategic planning benefit relationships, and what are some practical steps for couples to implement it?

Strategic planning can benefit couples because it allows for opportunities to highlight strengths and opportunities and identify weaknesses and threats. Uncovering these areas allows you to leverage strengths, discover weaknesses, optimize opportunities, and tackle threats. Being strategic in any area helps you make logical, analytical, and calculated decisions versus emotional or irrational decisions that could hurt your ability to build a functional and successful model for your children or other family members.

How have your personal experiences played a role in shaping your approach to helping couples strengthen their relationships?

My personal experiences led to me writing this book. I could not help others before I first helped myself and realized that the concepts presented in this book truly work. My spouse and I utilize the practices in this book, and we also include our children in strategy, decisions, and discussions so that they too learn how approaching problems in a strategic and logical manner can allow them to have better outcomes.

Can you share any success stories or examples of couples who have benefited from your guidance and strategies? What changes have they experienced in their relationships as a result?

Allison and Greg were considering divorce if things did not improve in their marriage. After conducting the canvas exercise in the book, they both saw their expectations for what a spouse should look like were not even items they were bringing to the table in their own marriage. They both realized that they had unrealistic expectations in some areas. After completing their SWOT, they realized neither party was operating in their strengths to make the marriage successful.

Additionally, they now realize that they both brought some dysfunctional behaviors into the marriage, including fears about money scarcity and difficulty building trust. The working sessions proved valuable for them in removing some barriers, uncovering reasons for financial concerns, and then identifying core value alignment to start overcoming vital issues in their marriage, including the ability to build trust and have difficult conversations. They are actively working from a strategic marriage plan and have removed divorce from the table.

What do you believe are the most common misconceptions or challenges that high-power couples face in their relationships, and how can your guidance help them overcome these hurdles?

High-power couples are usually successful and believe that marriage is just another thing they can succeed at. The problem is they don’t put a lot of work into the marriage because they spend much of their time working in their careers, with their children, or active in other areas.

They can benefit from working from a strategy, implementing a plan for success, and consistently working from the plan, allowing these high-power couples to embrace success in their marriages. Ultimately, it’s creating a model for success in an area that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Your journey and the diversity of your experiences are quite unique. How do you think your background sets you apart from other relationship and marriage coaches?

My background and experience come from a corporate and business perspective. Most relationship experts come from a love or psychology perspective. Neither approach is wrong, but my method is one where I am taking concrete concepts vs abstract concepts, which are sometimes easier to embrace.

My perspective is inclusive of love, but I like to approach problems in a step-by-step methodical manner vs a big-picture ideology manner. My method seems to be more palatable to men as well, because I like to solve without drawing from emotions and largely focus on facts and data, which seems to resonate with men and they are more interested in doing the work because they see measurable outcomes.

What’s next for you in your mission to help high-power couples achieve stronger relationships? Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you’d like to share with your audience?

I will be hosting or speaking at a few marriage conferences and women’s conferences in 2024. Additionally, I would like to begin offering access to an online subscription so readers can get more resources and have a way to ask questions or get feedback.

Finally, could you provide some advice or words of wisdom for couples, who are looking to improve their relationships and marriages?

Walking away from your relationship does not fix the problems that were present in the relationship. You take the problems that lie within you to the next relationship. Whether you leave or stay, fix the problems that you brought to the relationship because leaving does not fix the problems, fixing the problems fixes the problems!

Connect with Bonika Wilson Online

@thebusinesswithb on all  social platforms.