Rule #1 – The deal is the deal. Don’t alter the deal.
Rule #2 – No names.
Rule #3 – Never open the package.
Rule #4 – Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Rule #5 – Don’t miss the Transporter flicks.
If only clients and project managers would just follow rule #1 (no scope creep). I followed Rule #5 yesterday and saw Transporter 3 after watching Quantum of Solace the day before. I’ve definitely had my aciton fix for a while 🙂 Jason Statham has found a role for a lifetime.
The Algorithmist 
Hell YES!
Rule#4 is my golden rule, much more important than rule#1, and when project managers and clients follow rule#4 I like them so much more.
For Rule #1:
It’s more likely that the client isn’t following it (not the Project Manager). But the thing is, it doesn’t come down to “The deal is the deal, don’t alter the deal”. The client, in most cases (especially in software projects) doesn’t know what he wants. He actually relies on seeing some progress on his project to make some changes in order to adapt his needs.
Rule #4 is certainly for the Project manager, and is usually directly related to the client not complying to Rule #1.