The new year is a time to consider strategies for the 12 months ahead, be they personal, people and... (pauses to think of another word beginning with ‘p’... can’t) business.

Last year I demonstrated a great example of giving myself a target and moving some way towards it.

Target one was to join an off-roading club but auctioneer James Emson made me see the reality that I might need a level of mechanical awareness.

Target two was to get a new kitchen – DONE! I managed to add myself an extra room in the house with the clever suggestions of Ian Pennick Kitchens.

Another target was to go on holiday – DONE! For the first time in five years my son Willy and I successfully ventured further than the Isle of Man.

And for the IoD? I wanted to launch a new regular event and achieved that with the Directors’ Forums, taking place on the last Thursday of every month.

"If you have a thought more than three times, it is probably worth sharing..." - Emma Liddiard, IoD

I also wanted to help members keep on top of the large number of events we run across the year, which we did by building a mass Kent database and by sending regular emails rounding up monthly activities.

I also wanted to take hold of our social media presence. Now Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all regularly updated in the lead up to and during events.

When it comes to people – who are so important to your business, employees and customers – there are a few things I am going to think about:

Talking to staff – make sure they feel as though you have nothing else going on in your life at the moment. Completely concentrate on the conversation.

Look after psychological and physiological needs – people who don’t have good friends at work have only a one in 10 chance of being engaged.

Be a person to staff, not a job title – go the extra mile.

Discuss things that matter to you – if you have a thought more than three times, it is probably worth sharing.

Otherwise, ask yourself if it matter in six months time. It’s not all or nothing – expect people to be good at some stuff but remember they won’t be good at everything.

Remember we are just groups of people trying to work together to achieve a goal.

Work harder to focus on positive feedback. Put it in to context with the areas for development. We discuss topics like this and many others in our Directors’ Forums.

Look out for these across the year. The first one is Thursday, January 28.