Featured Interview With Lewena Bayer
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Wide open spaces, friendly faces, and social graces…that about sums up how I grew up. My name is Lew Bayer. I didn’t fully appreciate it when I was younger, but I was blessed to grow up in a loving home in Saskatchewan, Canada with three siblings and parents who taught me the value of respect and restraint. I now live in , Manitoba, Canada with an amazing husband and a 14 year old daughter who teaches me something every day. An entrepreneur for the past 20 years, I have the privilege of traveling and teaching and speaking to anyone and everyone who has an interest in civility.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always loved books, but it was on my twelfth birthday when my family gave me the Little House on the Prairie series of 8 books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, that I knew I was going to write a book some day. I took an English class at University of McGill in my second year and we had to write a children’s book. Mine was called Lew’s New Shoes. I got an A+ and I was hooked. Now I write every day- blogs, articles for magazines, training materials, speeches. etc. And this new book, The 30% Solution will be the tenth book I’ve been lucky enough to have published.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I recently read Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibagiza, it was gut-wrenching and made me cry but I couldn’t put it down. Trying to make my way through The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho now and I’ve been on a personal development/motivational kick and so following Brendan Bouchard closely and reading all his books including The Motivation Manifesto. I also read a lot of psychology and science books related to my work. As examples, Karl Albrecht, Benet Davetian, and Peter Senge books line my bookshelves. When I need inspiration for my own writing, I’m inclined to read Henry David Thoreau, and when I need courage I always come back to my all time favorite – poems by Mary Oliver
Tell us a little about your latest book?
What would you do with 30% more revenue? Hard to imagine a business owner who wouldn’t jump at more profit, right? And what about more engagement? And more retention? In this ground-breaking, practical and interesting book, I share insights from the field, statistics, facts, and tips including details about how research shows that organizations who actively support civil communications and a culture of civility see – measurable increases in revenue, retention, and engagement. And these are just a few of the favorable outcomes resulting from civility in the workplace. Many people understand civility to mean manners and so they dismiss it as something soft or nice to have. The fact is, there are four specific, tangible, competencies that organizations can build to help their teams exhibit civility and build a better workplace.
You might be shocked to know that 8/10 adults report being unhappy in their jobs- and this unhappiness is largely due to incivility. It might be a bully at work, a terrible boss, uncomfortable working conditions, a co-worker with poor communication- or poor hygiene, rude customers, and the list goes on an on.
The 30% Solution offers a toolkit for business owners, workplace trainers, business consultants, and human resource professionals to support them in building better workplaces. Better workplaces are civil workplaces and civility benefits the individual, the employer, our families, the community, etc.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles