Do you lead, or follow?

Recipes, that is?

When you find a recipe, do you follow it to the letter, make slight changes, or use it purely for inspiration?

I can say for myself, I almost always change recipes around, and most times I pop a cookbook open to get inspiration or have a rough guideline for a dish. Baking is not an exception for me--I still use a recipe for approximations rather than as gospel.

What about you?