"The rules, (or SOPs if you wish), are there for the guidance of the wise men and the blind obedience of the fools"
There are two problems with this quote. First, as
framer says, everyone naturally considers themselves to be the "wise men" in the quote. Second, a wise man who is "guided" by SOPs will follow those SOPs to the letter 99% of the time. The SOPs should be followed strictly when they are applicable, and good SOPs will be applicable all day, every day, except for those one or two occasions where something not covered by the SOPs occurs. My point is that the above quote is too often used as a reason to disregard SOPs when there is NO good reason to disregard the SOPs.