Dynamic Duos: desk buddies turned best mates
In this week's Dynamic Duos, iProspect's managing director of Melbourne, Paul Murphy, and Ken Lam, national head of investment, share with Mumbrella their 16 years of working together, from being desk buddies and playing pranks on one another to a warm and respectful friendship.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
Paul Murphy:
I first met Ken back in 2007 when we sat across from each other at OMD.
That year as an office we decided to start a basketball team. Full branded uniforms, the whole lot. Given that Ken looked about 22 years old and hung around with the junior members of the office, we had assumed that he was under 25. When we had to include our age details for the basketball registration it was a shock to find out that he was already 30.
Upon finding out that we were the same age, and with me being teased for looking 10 years older, a bet was made. Ken has probably already mentioned this, as I feel like looking younger than me is a major highlight for him (it is probably in his LinkedIn profile). A bet was made for who would either go grey or lose their hair first.
16 years later, unfortunately I am not leading this bet.
Sitting in such close proximity we quickly formed a friendship. Although I never said it to him, he was the first person I would cross check media negotiations with as he was always considered an astute trader.
Outside of day-to-day work, I began to notice Ken hanging around my desk area all too often. Most of the time without any real purpose. Something was clearly afoot beyond my magnetic charisma. Ken had a crush on our colleague that was also in my team, Izabella. With courting technique that included hanging around like a puppy dog, it is no wonder that they would later end up marrying and having 2 children together.
Ken and I have now worked together a total of 3 times over the past 16 years. You would think he would learn his lesson. Although we are very different in terms of how we approach work, I believe we compliment each other. My lack of adherence to any form of process or structure irritates him immensely. I realised early on that I was better when we worked together. And the entertainment of seeing him blow up at me is priceless!
Ken Lam:
I must have met Paul more than 16 years ago at OMD, back when we were business managers on different accounts.
I had only joined the agency a few months back on the Mazda account, and Murph joining the Fonterra team not long after. All I remember was this lumbering mountain of a bloke from Adelaide, who spoke with a drawl, and always had a long-winded funny story to tell.
Luck would have it, we sat next to each other over a partition and the more stories he told, the more he endeared himself to everyone. And that’s quality I admire in Murph. No matter if you’re a colleague, a complete stranger or a longtime friend, and no matter the situation, Murph is always friendly and has a welcoming way to bring you to like him.
We’ve been very close friends since those early OMD days which were some of the best times I had in my media career with lots of (drinking) fun, pranks and even the odd eating challenge. I was lucky enough to work directly with Murph again at Mindshare on the Ford account with a bunch of other brilliant smart and funny people, and we did some outstanding work together that we still look back fondly on.
And now again at iProspect, a bit older and seasoned in our careers but we still try to bring the same sense of fun and energy (to play the odd prank here and there) into everyday work life, shaping and leading a relatively new agency iProspect – merged from the best of performance expertise along end-to-end capabilities across strategy, planning and investment to bring a differing perspective and offering in market.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride and Murph has always maintained his warm, friendly and welcoming way no matter how tough or stressful some days and situations may be, it’s been a real joy to work alongside together with him.
Paul on Ken:
Most memorable moment with Ken: I cherish the memory of Ken repeatedly challenging Emmo (Michael Emmerson) to an arm wrestle when we had team events at the pub. I swear he would train specifically for these events and come in with a head full of confidence, only to regularly succumb to the pure grit shown by Emmo.
Best word to describe him: Genuine. I have always felt trust in Ken. He cares about people and forms deep relationships.
Most annoying or endearing behaviour he has: Ken loves process and thinks that everyone should at least have his level of passion for it. He is shocked when someone strays from following a new process he designed and mentioned to them over video 18 months ago.
Ken on Paul:
Most memorable moment with Paul: The numerous office pranks we played on each other, but the best one would be the infamous one at OMD where Murph was made to believe he was fired from his prank that backfired. The entire office got in on it, we packed all his stuff in boxes and everyone signed a farewell card. Even the MD got in on the joke, telling Murph he had bad news to tell him stemming from the prank he played on everyone.
Best word to describe him: I’ll cheat and use a character instead… the BFG. He even looks a bit like him too (I know it’s a fictional character)
Most annoying or endearing behaviour he has: I’ve already said lots of nice things, so I’ll choose something that annoys me instead. Which is Paul’s love of long-winded stories and conversations, especially when we need to move a meeting along or I need to get something done!
If you and a colleague would like to submit your story to Dynamic Duos, please email Lauren at lmcnamara@mumbrella.com.au.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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Thank you for the light reading. That was brilliant!
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