Beware of formulas. If there's a God, he's not a God of formulas
As written by novelist Graham Greene
Classic spy novels are not the usual place I look for guidance on project management, but this passage struck a note with me.
The message is: protocols have their place; so also methodologies. But situational awareness, adaption to circumstances, and innovation to fit the need--coupled with the will to lead--distinguish the enlightened from the mundane, perhaps even the successful from the failed.