swiss army knife
Versatility
adverb
Capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.
Ah yes, memories of my Boy Scout days. The Swiss army knife. The pinnacle of versalite pocket tools. Status symbol of senior scouts. Yes, the standard issue Boy Scout knife had some versatile implements. but not like the Swiss army knife. Heck, some of them included a fork and spoon. I did not know at the time that I was being shown how to value assets. Tools become assets when you have what you need at the right time. Combining options into a versatile package increases the likelihood of that package becoming an asset
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abandoned phone booths
Phone booths used to be a valued asset of the phone company. Heck, they were a machine for collecting lots of quarters. However the season changes. Now that we have all gotten used to the versatility of our cell phones, a single purpose piece of equipment like a phone booth is left out in the weather to rot. OK, one got repurposed as a time machine and some others as superhero change rooms. Since it wasn’t our money that was invested, we just brush them off in the buggy whip category. Yes, there used to be buggy whip manufacturers
Pack Mule
Closer to home, a customer of my current major client chose our product because it is versatile. They did not have to choose between buying a personnel carrier or a tow vehicle. As a matter of fact they bought the bolt on tow hitches at the beginning. In this time of chaos it is comforting to know that the money invested in a vehicle can serve either need. Even if we do not know our needs three years out.