Learning professionals usually need the approval of their managers and bosses to attend conferences, and the Letter to Your Boss contains reasons to encourage superiors to permit people who work for them to take part in the event. Among them are the following:

"The world of workplace learning is changing, evolving, and being disrupted. We are seeing shifts in employee expectations and evolving technologies, and a sharpening focus on business requirements for skills, compliance, and employee development."

"Learning 2016 is a unique opportunity for your learning professionals to be learners themselves and explore shifting industry trends with over 1,600 colleagues from around the world. Anderson Cooper (Anchor, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°), Astronaut Scott Kelly, Twitter CLO Melissa Daimler, Sanjay Sarma (MIT Digital Learning), and George Takei (actor and storyteller) are just a few of the over sixteen keynoters who will interactively explore the innovation, disruption, and changes in learning approaches."

"There are over 205 small-group learning activities, sessions, and labs that involve benchmarking with major corporations and government agencies on their changing approaches to learning and workforce development. We will collectively build some prototype 'Learning Apps', engage in a Learning Barracuda Bowl (our own ‘Shark Tank’), engage with our 30 Under 30 Rising Learning Leaders, and hear from over 12 Chief Learning Officers on their challenges, hopes, and shifts."

Here are some of the other learning experiences and innovative activities that your employee could benefit from at Learning 2016, co-hosted by the Learning CONSORTIUM and ATD:

• The Learner with a Learning Panorama
• Learning Personalization
• Better Data, Assessment, & Learning Accountability
• Brain & Cognitive Science: Realities vs. Hype
• Video Shifts in Learning
• Learning "Autopsies" - Sometimes Innovations Fail!
• Engagement & Gamification Elements to Support Learning
• Compliance & Learning
• The Overwhelmed Content Swirl: New Curation Models
• Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality - Opportunities?
• Learning Systems in 2017 - What's Ahead & Challenges
• Learning Competencies for Learning Professionals

"And, the culture of Learning 2016 reflects my 43 years in the learning field as a fiercely vendor-neutral analyst and advocate for experiential learning. Our culture is engaging, fun, and transferable back to the workplace - with a minimum number of PowerPoint slides."

"As a manager, I deeply respect the time and expense investments in sending an employee to an event. As producers, we promise to create a powerful learning experience for your learning professionals. I invite you and your team members to participate in Learning 2016. Please take a few minutes to review our Learning 2016 website and consider approving your colleagues’ attendance at this unique event."

The letter is signed by Elliott Masie