La Balanced Scorecard è un approccio alla pianificazione strategica smart e flessibile che ben si adatta all'attuale turbolento contesto ambientale. La sua efficacia ha fatto sì che si diffondesse nelle imprese di tutto il mondo e il libro che avete tra le mani è ormai un classico per chiunque desideri avvicinarsi e conoscere questo approccio. Grazie ad approfondimenti chiari ed esempi tratti dalla prassi di alcune imprese, il libro enfatizza come sia possibile tradurre la strategia aziendale in azione. È necessario monitorare i risultati, ma soprattutto le cause dei risultati (driver) individuate nella «mappa strategica», attraverso la ricerca delle relazioni di causa-effetto tra variabili. Grazie a questo approccio il modello mantiene la sua validità anche per l'attuazione di strategie di sostenibilità e risponde alle esigenze di rendicontazione ESG, oggi cruciali per tutte le aziende italiane: con la Balanced Scorecard, la strategia diventa azione.

Oggi più che mai, la storia del Medio Oriente è quella del mondo intero e ogni riflessione che lo riguarda, per quanto indiretta, si rivela uno specchio della nostra civiltà. Per riuscire a intravedere il futuro attraverso il passato, Robert Kaplan ritorna al genere più congeniale al suo modo di vivere e raccontare la geografia: il viaggio e il reportage, intesi come «l'arte di superare la prima impressione». Oggetto di questa nuova avventura è il Grande Medio Oriente, ovvero, in senso lato, la regione islamica del deserto e delle pianure, la vasta area che va dal Marocco al Turkestan orientale, fino a lambire la Cina; dai Balcani allo Yemen; dalla realtà della Libia a quella dell'Afghanistan. Tra scoperte e memorie, la narrazione si dipana lungo l'Egitto, l'Etiopia, l'Arabia Saudita, l'Iraq e l'Iran. Mescolando i ricordi delle sue tante esplorazioni alle letture di esperti, storici e scrittori, Kaplan rievoca epoche e paesaggi, muovendosi agilmente tra realtà locali complesse, forte di un'unica certezza: «attraversare un paese, annusarne gli odori, guardare come si comportano le persone, non offre risposte definitive, ma aiuta. Permette di toccare con mano il terreno, per non lasciare che i luoghi reali si dissolvano e diventino astratti». Questo sguardo si rivela fecondo, capace di riflettere su eventi e scenari, millenni e dinastie, caos e imperi, senza esaurire ma moltiplicando gli interrogativi: «Quale direzione prenderà il corso delle cose? Quali dimensioni politiche assumerà questa vasta regione che occupa gran parte della fascia subtropicale tra l'Europa e l'Estremo

Robert Kaplan percorre le sponde dell'Adriatico in un originale itinerario che mescola ricostruzione storica e reportage giornalistico, memoir letterario e analisi geopolitica, per raccontare un mare e una frontiera che oggi tornano al centro della scena mondiale. Di città in città, lasciandosi guidare dalle suggestioni evocate dai libri che lo hanno accompagnato durante la sua attività di esploratore e di studioso, e dai tanti incontri che colleziona nel corso di questo itinerario, l'autore traccia una serie di connessioni originali e ardite che dalla contemplazione di un affresco a Rimini lo porterà a Corfù, perfetta «sintesi di Italia e Grecia e quindi dell'Adriatico ». In dialogo con grandi autori, tra cui Claudio Magris e Boris Pahor, con esponenti dei governi locali e delle istituzioni internazionali, rivivono vicende più vicine a noi o dimenticate. Ravenna, Venezia, Trieste, Lubiana, Rijeka, Zagabria, Dubrovnik, Tirana e Durazzo sono alcune delle tappe che l'autore tocca muovendosi in un'area oggi più che mai crocevia dei destini del mondo. Uno scenario che spinge a chiederci che cosa è l'Europa, dove inizia e dove finisce, e soprattutto che cosa diventerà, e davanti al quale Kaplan confessa, con il coraggio e lo slancio del viaggiatore: «Sono certo solo della perdita di certezze».

«La vera tragedia è più del dolore. Non ha a che vedere con la vittoria del male sul bene. Si tratta piuttosto della lotta contro forze insormontabili. Lotta che porta a una nuova consapevolezza della nostra vita e santifi ca l'esistenza umana.» Nel rileggere i temi centrali della geopolitica internazionale - ordine e disordine, ribellione e obbedienza, lealtà alla famiglia e allo Stato - alla luce di un canone letterario che dagli antichi greci arriva ai classici moderni, passando per Shakespeare e i filosofi tedeschi, Robert Kaplan descrive la sostanza tragica dei meccanismi alla base del potere e delinea il ritratto del leader saggio. Sulla scorta dell'eroe tragico il politico avveduto prende decisioni difficili sulla base di elementi parziali, è coraggioso e pensa costruttivamente al futuro. Sa che il caos è il male peggiore e che solo un ordine lungimirante consente di distinguere giusto e sbagliato, innocenza e colpevolezza. Seguendo le tappe di un percorso che inquadra gli eventi e le forme di governo più sanguinose dalla fine della guerra fredda alla contemporaneità - dal regime di Saddam Hussein alla dittatura di Nicolae Ceausescu, dal conflitto civile in Sierra Leone, Nigeria ed Etiopia all'occupazione americana dell'Afghanistan, fino alla Russia di Putin - prende forma una mappa dello scacchiere mondiale, in cui «chi governa deve tornare a pensare tragicamente proprio per evitare la tragedia».

«Il viaggio è una sfida che non finisce mai. È sintesi estrema della vita, dove una settimana di strada può corrispondere a un'epopea.» Di città in città, lasciandosi guidare dalle suggestioni evocate dai libri che lo hanno accompagnato durante la sua attività di esploratore e di studioso e dai tanti incontri che colleziona nel corso di questo suo itinerario, Robert Kaplan traccia una serie di connessioni originali e ardite che dalla contemplazione di un affresco a Rimini lo porterà a Corfù, perfetta «sintesi di Italia e Grecia e quindi dell'Adriatico». Non c'è un luogo migliore per cercare le risposte ai mille interrogativi che emergono sul nostro tempo, in cui lo Stato nazionale è ormai in declino e le identità tornano a farsi multiple e fluide, un processo di cui l'Adriatico è stato e continua a essere il prototipo. Qui infatti la metamorfosi di confini, popoli e alleanze va avanti da secoli, con l'incessante dissolversi di comunità, poi riaggregatesi in forme nuove e oggi alle prese con un futuro incerto, minacciato dal populismo reazionario, dalla destabilizzazione politica e dalla lotta per il controllo delle fonti energetiche. In dialogo con grandi autori, tra cui Claudio Magris e Boris Pahor, ed esponenti dei governi locali e delle istituzioni internazionali, come l'ex presidente albanese Sali Berisha, rivivono vicende più vicine a noi o dimenticate. Ravenna, Venezia, Trieste, Lubiana, Rijeka, Zagabria, Dubrovnik, Tirana e Durazzo sono alcune delle tappe che l'autore tocca ripercorrendo un'area oggi più che mai crocevia dei destini del mondo. Uno scenario che spinge

Regulation A+: How the JOBS Act Creates Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Investors explains how to raise money under new provisions in the recently enacted JOBS Act. It will guide and advise executives of emerging growth companies, entrepreneurs, financial advisers, venture capitalists, investment bankers, securities lawyers, finance and MBA students, and others on how to raise up to $50 million a year through streamlined regulations.

Signed by President Obama on April 5, 2012, Title IV of the JOBS Act amends the 1930s-era Regulation A, making it far easier for businesses to raise growth capital through public offerings. It is, in effect, a new type of IPO but with much less regulation and cost. 

Regulation A+: How the JOBS Act Creates Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Investors spells out new processes that can and will have a dramatic impact on how companies obtain growth capital to create new jobs and bolster returns for investors. Some financial gurus believe that the new law, dubbed Regulation “A+” due to the enhancements, will usher in a revolutionary period of growth and innovation comparable to our largest past economic expansions.

To date, much of the commentary on the JOBS Act has focused on Title III, which allows broader use of crowdfunding to raise up to $1 million per year. However, many entrepreneurs and economists believe that new changes to Regulation A

will have a much greater impact on

innovation and job creation. The best part? Regulation A+ lifts many constraints on soliciting funds and trading new stock issues. Among other things, readers of this book will learn how to take advantage of these provisions:

• Regulation A+ permits companies to raise up to $50 million, a tenfold increase over the old limit of $5 million, and much more than the crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act ($1 million).
• Regulation A+ allows companies to market IPOs to more people than just “accredited investors” and makes it easier to get the word out on offerings.
• Regulation A+ allows certain companies to avoid the SEC periodic reporting regimen (Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K, and proxy statements), provided that the number of shareholders is kept below revised thresholds.
• Regulation A+ exempts certain companies from many onerous and costly compliance requirements, including Sarbanes-Oxley.

In short, Regulation A+ greatly simplifies the capital-raising process, making it easier to grow companies, create jobs, and reward investors.

Renowned litigator Roberta Kaplan knew from the beginning that it was the perfect case to bring down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer had been together as a couple, in sickness and in health, for more than forty years—enduring society’s homophobia as well as Spyer’s near total paralysis from multiple sclerosis. Although the couple was finally able to marry, when Spyer died the federal government refused to recognize their marriage, forcing Windsor to pay a huge estate tax bill.In this gripping, definitive account of one of our nation’s most significant civil rights victories, Kaplan describes meeting Windsor and their journey together to defeat DOMA. She shares the behind-the-scenes highs and lows, the excitement and the worries, and provides intriguing insights into her historic argument before the Supreme Court. A critical and previously untold part of the narrative is Kaplan’s own personal story, including her struggle for self-acceptance in order to create a loving family of her own.Then Comes Marriage tells this quintessentially American story with honesty, humor, and heart. It is the momentous yet intimate account of a thrilling victory for equality under the law for all Americans, gay or straight.

The military cult classic with resonance to the wars in Iraq and Vietnam—now back in print

When The Centurions was first published in 1960, readers were riveted by the thrilling account of soldiers fighting for survival in hostile environments. They were equally transfixed by the chilling moral question the novel posed: how to fight when the “age of heroics is over.” As relevant today as it was half a century ago, The Centurionsis a gripping military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency. Featuring a foreword by renowned military expert Robert D. Kaplan, this important wartime novel will again spark debate about controversial tactics in hot spots around the world.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

A jewel-like collection of the most exquisite cherry blossoms in Japanese art celebrates the enduring power of spring. This joyous collection of cherry blossoms, drawn from one of the world’s finest collections of Japanese art, celebrates the universal pleasure of spring. Richly illustrated with examples from grand screens, woodblock prints, and ink on silk, Cherry Blossoms offers exquisitely rendered buds and blooms for all who cherish them.Since the eighteenth-century, elaborate parties of royal maidens and farmers alike have gathered to view the cherry trees, an enduring symbol of the cycle of life in Japan. The flowers feature prominently in Japanese art—magnificent gilded screens show serene blossoms floating majestically among tall evergreens, and in one charming vignette a group of soldiers stop in their tracks as they ascend a mountain path to a temple, overwhelmed by the surrounding pink petals. Japanese cherry trees have inspired artists and poets and were gifted to Washington, D.C., as a symbol of friendship between nations. Today, we celebrate cherry blossom festivals across the United States and worldwide and see our cities framed by the blossoming branches that herald spring. The reproductions featured in this book are accompanied by text from senior curator of Japanese art James T. Ulak, exploring this flowering tree’s timeless appeal and symbolism.

From Robert D. Kaplan, named one of the world’s Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, comes a penetrating look at the volatile region that will dominate the future of geopolitical conflict.

Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries’ worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.

In Asia’s Cauldron, Robert D. Kaplan offers up a vivid snapshot of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, the conflicts brewing in the region at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and their implications for global peace and stability. One of the world’s most perceptive foreign policy experts, Kaplan interprets America’s interests in Asia in the context of an increasingly assertive China. He explains how the region’s unique geography fosters the growth of navies but also impedes aggression. And he draws a striking parallel between China’s quest for hegemony in the South China Sea and the United States’ imperial adventure in the Caribbean more than a century ago.

To understand the future of conflict in East Asia, Kaplan argues, one must understand the goals and motivations of its leaders and its people. Part travelogue, part geopolitical primer, Asia’s Cauldron takes us on a journey through the region’s boom cities and ramshackle slums: from Vietnam, where the superfueled capitalism of the erstwhile colonial capital, Saigon, inspires the geostrategic pretensions of the official seat of government in Hanoi, to Malaysia, where a unique mix of authoritarian Islam and Western-style consumerism creates quite possibly the ultimate postmodern society; and from Singapore, whose “benevolent autocracy” helped foster an economic miracle, to the Philippines, where a different brand of authoritarianism under Ferdinand Marcos led not to economic growth but to decades of corruption and crime.

At a time when every day’s news seems to contain some new story—large or small—that directly relates to conflicts over the South China Sea, Asia’s Cauldron is an indispensable guide to a corner of the globe that will affect all of our lives for years to come.

Praise for Asia’s Cauldron

“Asia’s Cauldron is a short book with a powerful thesis, and it stands out for its clarity and good sense. . . . If you are doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about geopolitics, you will want to read it.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Kaplan has established himself as one of our most consequential geopolitical thinkers. . . . [Asia’s Cauldron] is part treatise on geopolitics, part travel narrative. Indeed, he writes in the tradition of the great travel writers.”—The Weekly Standard

“Kaplan’s fascinating book is a welcome challenge to the pessimists who see only trouble in China’s rise and the hawks who view it as malign.”—The Economist

“Muscular, deeply knowledgeable . . . Kaplan is an ultra-realist [who] takes a non-moralistic stance on questions of power and diplomacy.”—Financial Times


From the Hardcover edition.

From Robert D. Kaplan, named one of the world’s Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, comes a penetrating look at the volatile region that will dominate the future of geopolitical conflict.

Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries’ worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.

In Asia’s Cauldron, Robert D. Kaplan offers up a vivid snapshot of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, the conflicts brewing in the region at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and their implications for global peace and stability. One of the world’s most perceptive foreign policy experts, Kaplan interprets America’s interests in Asia in the context of an increasingly assertive China. He explains how the region’s unique geography fosters the growth of navies but also impedes aggression. And he draws a striking parallel between China’s quest for hegemony in the South China Sea and the United States’ imperial adventure in the Caribbean more than a century ago.

To understand the future of conflict in East Asia, Kaplan argues, one must understand the goals and motivations of its leaders and its people. Part travelogue, part geopolitical primer, Asia’s Cauldron takes us on a journey through the region’s boom cities and ramshackle slums: from Vietnam, where the superfueled capitalism of the erstwhile colonial capital, Saigon, inspires the geostrategic pretensions of the official seat of government in Hanoi, to Malaysia, where a unique mix of authoritarian Islam and Western-style consumerism creates quite possibly the ultimate postmodern society; and from Singapore, whose “benevolent autocracy” helped foster an economic miracle, to the Philippines, where a different brand of authoritarianism under Ferdinand Marcos led not to economic growth but to decades of corruption and crime.

At a time when every day’s news seems to contain some new story—large or small—that directly relates to conflicts over the South China Sea, Asia’s Cauldron is an indispensable guide to a corner of the globe that will affect all of our lives for years to come.