Looking at a Person in a New Way

Have you looked at a person you have known for a long time in a new way? You know, maybe one of your friends in the community. "Hey, wait a minute, this person is a 'heavy hitter.'"

How do you appraise a person who works for a Realtor which you now realize has a monopoly, and that person herself has a monopoly on the properties in the town you live in? Is it her or the company? Was she a heavy-hitter all along?

Or a person who is a lawyer in one of the three or four largest law firms in the city? Is it him or is it the law firm, that makes him "special?"