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The Primer playbook

Skills

Turn a research process into a skill you can use again. Start with an existing skill or build your own.

Guide 01

What is a skill and when should you use one?

A skill is a saved set of instructions for a task you do often. It tells Primer what to read, which steps to follow and how to present the answer. You run it when you need it.

Do this

  1. Think of a task you repeat: an earnings first read, a model audit or an accounting check.
  2. Use a skill when the process stays much the same but the company or documents change.
  3. Keep the process in the skill. Put current company views in Company Memory and general answer preferences in My Instructions.
  4. Open Customize → Skills. Open a skill and read its instructions to see what it does and what information it needs.
Open Customize, then expand Skills to find and build research workflows.
Customize with My Instructions, My Philosophy, Skills and Company Memory

Open Customize, then expand Skills to find and build research workflows.

A simple example

“An earnings first-read skill might say: compare the release with my expectations, explain the guidance change, list the questions for the call, then write a short note. You supply a different company and release each time.”

Guide 02

Use an existing skill

You can use a skill already available in Primer, one you have made or one shared with you. Try Thesis review to see what supports or challenges your investment thesis.

Do this

  1. Start a new session. Type @ and choose Thesis review, or ask Primer to use it by name.
  2. Add the company you want to research using @, then ask Primer to review its investment thesis.
  3. Read the answer. Ask Primer to explain missing information or steps it could not complete before relying on the result.
Start a session and use @ to choose a skill and company.
New session message box with the mention menu and Add files

Start a session and use @ to choose a skill and company.

Try this

“Use Thesis review for @Company. Explain what supports or challenges the investment thesis and what I should investigate next. Include source references for the main findings.”

Guide 03

Build your own skill

Describe your process as if you were explaining it to another analyst. If you have a finished piece of work you like, upload it to show Primer what you want.

Do this

  1. Open Customize → Skills. In Build a skill, choose Describe it or Upload example. This opens a conversation to build the skill.
  2. Explain the task, the information you start with, the checks you make and the finished output you want. Attach one or more good examples if you have them.
  3. Answer Primer’s questions. Make clear which parts of an example should be repeated and which belong only to that company.
  4. Ask Primer to show you the draft instructions. Correct them, then ask it to save the agreed version as a skill with a clear name.
  5. Open the saved skill in Customize → Skills and check that it contains the process you agreed.
Choose Describe it to explain your process, or Upload example to start from work you have already done.
Build a skill card with Describe it and Upload example buttons

Choose Describe it to explain your process, or Upload example to start from work you have already done.

Try this

“Help me build a skill called [name] for [task]. I start with [inputs]. My process is [steps and checks]. I want the output to contain [sections, tables and length]. I have attached [examples]. Ask me about anything unclear, then show me the draft skill before saving it. Keep company-specific facts out of the reusable instructions.”

Guide 04

Test and improve your skill

Try your skill on real work before using it regularly. A useful test is a company or period where you already know what a good answer should contain.

Do this

  1. Start a new session and run the skill on a familiar company with the files it needs.
  2. Compare the answer with your own work. Look for missing steps, wrong comparisons, unclear wording and numbers you cannot trace.
  3. Give specific feedback: say what it missed and what the skill should do next time. Ask Primer to update your saved skill.
  4. Open the skill to check the change, then test it in a fresh session on a different company or period. Check it still works when information is missing.
Try this

“Review the output from my [skill name] skill. It missed [specific issue] and should instead [desired behaviour]. Explain which instruction needs changing, then update my skill with the agreed change. Keep the rest of the process intact. Give me a test request I can use in a new session.”

Guide 05

Worked examples: first reads, model audits and accounting checks

Start with a task you already understand. You can then judge whether the skill is doing useful work.

  1. Earnings first read

    Choose a company and reporting period. Primer already has the company’s financial documents. Share your expectations and examples of your first reads so the skill can compare the key figures, explain guidance changes and draft your note. Say whether a later call transcript should lead to an updated note.

  2. Model audit

    Give Primer a workbook and explain its sheets, units and periods. The skill should check formulas it can inspect, totals, units and assumptions, then give findings with sheet and cell references. Ask it to show findings before changing the workbook.

  3. Accounting check

    Choose a company and explain your usual checks. Primer already has the company’s financial documents, so you do not need to upload them. For example: compare profit with cash flow, look at receivables and inventory, and examine adjustments. The skill should show its calculations and explain possible causes before drawing conclusions.

Do this

  1. Choose one of these tasks and gather a good example of your own work.
  2. Use the prompt below to draft the skill, replacing the brackets with your process.
  3. Test it on another company. Add the checks it missed and remove instructions that do not help.
Try this

“Build a skill called [First Read / Model Audit / Accounting Check]. Use the company’s financial documents already in Primer. Any extra information I will provide is [my expectations / my model / examples of my work]. The checks I always make are [checks]. The output should contain [sections]. Ask me questions, then show me the draft process before saving it as a skill.”

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