How To Solve Problems Like Auntie Anne’s Pretzels And Build A World Class Franchise?

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” By Theodore Rubin

Her Challenges:

Learned how to make pretzels at a food stand at a farmer’s market the Pennsylvania Dutch way. Before that she worked at a waitress and she learned about costumer service.
Had a market stand in Maryland in 1987 where she hand-made pretzels.
Rented a stand in Pennsylvania in 1988, calling it Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.
Had to re-do the recipe for the pretzels because they were dissatisfactory.
After a year, she had eight stand alone stores and her first store in a mall.
Only advertisement was the costumers talking about how good her pretzels were.
The franchise spread throughout Central Pennsylvania in 1989.
Her daughter, Angela, died from an accident when she was 19 months old.

Who is Anne Beiler?

Some Highlights:

In May 2005, she received an honorary doctorate from Elizabethtown College and a doctorate from Eastern University.
She wrote the books Auntie Anne: My Story' with illustrations by artist Frieman Stoltzfus and Twist of Faith: The Story of Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels.
Delivered a speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention in September 2008.
Provides fundraising ideas for schools and non-profit, community groups.
Auntie Anne’s Pretzels received the Best in Food Category Award in 2009 and the Franchise Satisfaction Award in 2010.
Has received the World-Class Franchise honor for the past five years.

How can you solve problems like Anne Beiler?

	What?	Where?	When?	Who?	How?
Current State	What happen?	Where is the confusion?	When is it done?	Who does the work?	How are the activities sequenced?
Future State	What should it look like?	Where will the process change?	When will it change?	Who will do the work?	How will the activities be timed and resourced?
Gap	What is different?	Where will the change make a difference?	When are the difference considered?	Who will identify and validate the gap?	How will the gap be improved and managed?
Is there a better way?	What alternative solutions are available?	Where would the alternative solutions be considered?	When is there a better widow of opportunity?	Who makes the decisions on alternative solutions?	How will the alternative solutions be viewed by the organization?