November 17, 2007 -- Saturday afternoon

Reading Extreme Customer Service, by Dr. Tom Orent. What he's learned? In business, 80% is customer service, 20% is product. He is a dentist/orthodontist and has two practices, one in the Mission District and the other in San Jose.

His favorite book? When he was very young he read The Godfather, by Mario Puzo, three or four times and loved it. He still loves it.

Another good book--The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough. It's a long story. He just enjoyed it. It's about life and set in Australia, and talks about life in the outback, with lots of upheaval.

If he were to write a book, it'd be non-fiction, about his life. He doesn't know if it would be interesting for other people, but he would write it for himself, when he retires.

He is from Ethiopia. When he was nine-years old and living in a rural village he heard the name San Francisco for the first time. His Dad was telling him about the end of World War II and how the United Nations was founded in San Francisco. When he was older, he saw a postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge and wished he could go there.

And, now, here I am, he said with almost disbelief.

He moved to San Francisco at age 35 or 36, after practicing dentistry and medicine in a hospital in Ethiopia during their Civil War.

He is a passionate reader. Recently he's been reading biographies, history books, fiction, non-fiction, and books for his business, like this one he's reading now.