List 3 lines you never want to hear from a project leader
 

I'll start:

please don't 1. try to get a date out of me for anything
2. try to pressure me into revealing more than that is ok.
3. Commit to something I cannot

When I'm at work, avoiding work... the last thing I want to read about is work.

1. I'm not sure what to do.
2. We're way behind schedule, I need you here for the next few Saturdays.
3. Does these jeans make me look fat?

We sold this with an expedited timeline

CeaSe AnD deSisT

1. I'm the who of the what now? What project?
2. Let's tighten this deadline down, we don't need to test if you just code it right!
3. I don't tolerate mistakes on my team!

Legal wAntS to Talk
WeRe 17M $ oveR budget

1. This came down from the top. Its not my idea
2. Does anyone know what next steps are?
3. I never write down the details

"We understand if you’re a fan or a skeptic – you’re welcome to our community regardless. We know a lot of indie games don’t ship and that’s created a lot of people who feel burned. Why should you believe in VR? First, we now have more than a 20-person team, even though we started with nothing. We built the company up, and while doing so we’ve already created a playable MMO, one that might see some success were it released but it’s only the foundation of what we all want to ship. It’s playable, we’ve already had four pre-alpha tests with hundreds running around the game. The world is decently large enough for perhaps a couple, three weeks of average/normal play."



"New stuff IS coming. Of course, I won’t give a date – I am no longer allowing myself to ever give a date as to when something related to this game is supposed to be done"

1. (When establishing a group of pilot users for an upcoming change) "Okay, you, you and you just play around with it a little. Ohh, you mean like not actually test functionality and assume any responsibility.. just "play around in the system". Cool, got it thanks super helpful.

2. No specific quote, but usage of extremely high-level language in a meeting intended to discuss fine details and provide actual feedback, results or updates.

3. "Soandso will be working remotely (due to some inane reason) for the duration of this project" - and of course Soandso has the most integral role in its success.