If you feel like you are always winging it when it comes to IT, you might make time to invest in some solid reading from various government agencies. The National Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Defense’s Information Assurance Support Environment each have various documents freely available that provide information and recommendations for configuring IT resources securely, reliably, and to a standard of quality.
The NSA has a few documents that are highly regarded. Notably, their Manageable Network Plan (.pdf) is a good read through for anybody that wants to view how other networks are configured and align their practices to a standard. They also have The 60 Minute Network Security Guide (.pdf). On top of that, they have a good Web Application Security Overview and a guide on Social Networks along with other guides.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology also has a section of Special Publications. These include securing WLANs guidelines, Cloud Computing recommendations, IPv6, SSL VPNs, storage encryption, and tons of other topics.
The Information Assurance Support Environment home page offers an A-Z index of Security Technical Implementations Guides. It covers all sorts of things like biometrics implementations to Windows and well beyond.
Take advantage of these resources and learn from some organizations that have gone before you.