I feel bad for you if you've met such bosses. As one, and as someone who has worked under several, I've never once experienced a boss knowing or saying such things. I've only ever seen it come from developers.
Edit: Just to clarify, there may be instances where a mgmt type has asked if X on platform Y can be reused on platform Z easily. I've never seen it go beyond the ask.
Edit: Just to clarify, there may be instances where a mgmt type has asked if X on platform Y can be reused on platform Z easily. I've never seen it go beyond the ask.