An excellent post. I can relate to what you have written with my workplace experience.
As the world becomes more and more interconnected, it becomes imperative for even specialist to have a wider knowledge of fields outside their specialization. For instance, a criminal lawyer without good IT knowledge will be completely lost if he/she were to handle cyber crimes.
Yes @devann. I believe there are some skills which are imperative irrespective of your career. Skills like writing, effective communication and being technology friendly are extremely crucial today.