Hi devinashburn,
I know what you mean about feeling disappointed in the results of the exam, and in my experience, the best piece of advice is to "think like a manager", not only during the test, but also when you are studying the material. There is a LOT of material to study from, and a lot of it is pretty good. That being said, the test isn't trying to gauge whether or not you specifically remember the fire extinguisher that will be used in a data center, or if you can distinguish IPSEC ESP versus AH. Instead, the relationship between the study material and the exam is meant to give you the specific knowledge (like IPSEC) to make decisions based on the "think like a manager" perspective.
As an analogy, if you were studying to be an electrician, you would need to understand key concepts like voltage, impedance, capacitance, wire specifications, breaker boxes, fire issues, etc. While this material will help you as an electrician, to manage a company of electricians, you will need to make difference decisions, such as cost, the customer requirements and employee safety. Invariably there will be constraints put on your electricians that will force the company to make job decisions that are less than optimal, but that is the real world. You will have to decide the BEST way to satisfy the needs, while reducing costs, making the job easier, making the customer happy, and not putting your employees or customers at risk.
It is this type of thinking that the CISSP exam focuses on; to look holistically at the problem, while understanding the key concepts well enough that they internally help shape your decision making.
I hope that helps.
Kevin
