The diners who joined Ghilaine Chan, Plug-in COO for startups and SMEs, for dinner last week  at The Anthologist left with notebooks full of tips and advice for becoming a master of execution and operations. Here are a few snippets to whet your appetite:

1. When you are limited with resources, you need to focus and work out what is important.
2. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey.
3. Have a ‘to do’ list, adding timings for how long each task will take. This allows you to focus your mind.
4. Focus on getting one thing done a day. It takes away any faff and helps you to feel in control.
5. Work out what you can and can’t control.
6. Be outcome-based. Focus on the end game and work backwards.
7. Be purposeful about being on and in your business. You need to decide the time that you are going to give to tasks, diarise and stick to it.
8. Make time for what is important to you (hobbies, families, friends) and schedule them in your diary.
9. Be aware of what you are good at, as well as what you enjoy doing. Make a list of what you don’t enjoy doing too – delegate this to other people.
10. Don’t check emails first thing; don’t let others dictate your time.
11. Plan the following day on the day before.
12. Plan your following week on a Thursday morning.
13. Match your task to your energy levels; know when you work best.
14. Trust people to do a job that you ask of them. Make sure they are the right person doing the right job, and that you have given them good guidance.

For more tips and tricks from our speakers, check out our top tips blogs. Although, nothing beats meeting our speakers in person – so come join us for dinner!