Isn’t it ironic that we can be connected to more than 100 million people with the click of a mouse via myspace.com and facebook.com, yet we find it increasingly difficult to find time to say “hello” to our next-door neighbor?

It seems the easier it is to form networks with strangers, the harder it is to foster our friendships and professional alliances.

Yet the true secret to success is the people we surround ourselves with — personally and professionally.

But how do you make those connections when you’re already so busy? How do you keep in touch with your closest friends, let alone build and maintain workplace networks? Here are a couple of tips.  MORE

This month Lisa talks with Shannon MacDonald, partner, National Health Services Leader, with Deloitte in Toronto about staying connected.

What’s the biggest challenge you have faced trying
 to balance staying connected with professional
colleagues (and friends) while being a mom?

I have taken a pretty strict view on evening events for work, like dinners, receptions, banquets. Sometimes this means that you miss the more casual or extended conversations that you can’t have in the office. So I have missed that somewhat. But there is no question that my time is better spent at home at this stage in my life.


Read full interview here.

How can my network support me most in my life?