Steve Yastro's riff about scripts reminds me about my take on SOP's. Procedures and policies (and scripts for that matter) should be developed to create efficiency...and give your people more time to focus their creative energies on the guest...to build relationships. If your rules and processes are getting in the way, consider changing them...or, even eliminating them.
What if you could trust everyone in your organization? Would it change the way you write SOP's?