A popular song from 1944 shared this timeless advice: “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t mess with mister in-between!” Sung by Bing Crosby in the ’40s, Perry Como in the ’50s, Ella Fitzgerald in ’60s, and with covers in every decade following, the message stands the test of time.

For nonprofits, this means starting with a list of your organization’s positives and negatives. This list may be generated by staff and board members, but every nonprofit could really benefit from a more objective perspective. If you haven’t done it recently, enlisting an outside group to assess your strengths and barriers to advancement – from the public’s point of view – is a great idea.

Once that information is in hand, take these lessons to heart:

Accentuate the positive

Whatever you do well, double down on your efforts. Do people like that you participate in community events? Then, schedule more next year. Do they hold your executive director in high regard? Then, get events on the calendar for more presentations and appointments with existing and prospective donors. Put more energy into doing what you do well.

Eliminate the negative

Yes, it’s uncomfortable to hear that no one knows your board members, or that the public doesn’t have a clear understanding of your mission, or that your brand and signage need updating… or a dozen other things. But it’s good to hear what’s wrong. Use that information to get a game plan. If it doesn’t work, stop doing it.

Don’t mess with mister in-between

Focusing on a list of positives to accentuate and a list of negatives to eliminate will keep you busy and help you avoid spinning your wheels on projects that zap your time and resources without a commensurate upside. If it’s getting you nowhere, and taking a majority of your time and energy, it’s not worth doing.

If your nonprofit is ready to invest its time and resources wisely – as well as raise more money for the mission – consider having a professional help you assess, objectively, where you are now. It might not be where you think you are. That way, you can get where you should be by this time next year!