Monday's WSJ carried an interview with Jim Owens, who is the CEO of Caterpillar.  Besides giving a great overview of the company's business operations and prospects, what surprised us most was what was not said. The interview opens with the writer of the article heaping praise on Mr. Owens, and saying how since he came in three years ago, revenues have doubled in size.  When asked however, how it was that the company was able to accomplish such a feat, rather than say something like, "When I came in here I refocused our operations and motivated our sales force to increase share.", he simply gave credit where credit was due.  His answer was, "We've done it on the strength of the global economy."