Unfortunate; most of us have had experienced such situations separately, it sucks when they come together in a "rock and hard place" situation. Good managers /

Unfortunate; most of us have had experienced such situations separately, it sucks when they come together in a "rock and hard place" situation. Good managers / business leads/ execs / champions CAN be reasoned with, as long as you find common language, think and understand their priorities, provide alternatives that meet their underlying goals (all of which frequently falls on the presenters). E.g. in your situation, it may be that unspoken expectation was to cut scope or increase resource contour or find another way to meet deadline rather than just changing estimates; or something completely different. Occasionally though, you're as you say stuck between other people's indecipherable politics. I find in such situations, I'm most comfortable speaking the most honest truth and working hard, openly and explicitly, to understand/ask/bring to surface everybody's actual critical goals.