Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for optimizing the transmitter and receiver weights of a MIMO system. In one embodiment, the weights are optimized to create and steer beam nulls, such that each transmitted signal is substantially decoupled from all other signals between a MIMO transmitter a MIMO receiver. In another embodiment, the weights are selected such that, the signal strength of each weighted signal transmitted through a communications channel along a respective signal path is substantially equivalent, but for which the weighting vectors are not necessarily orthogonal. In a further embodiment, each transmitted signal is coupled only between its own transmitter and receiver antennas with a gain, or eigenvalue, that is a consequence of the weights, and which is bounded to within a desired range of values while at the same time the weighing vectors are orthogonal. Embodiments employing successive decomposition are also provided.