The David Tepper
Framework
Macro Timing & Distressed Conviction
David Tepper built capital over decades by applying specific, repeatable mental models to uncertainty. David Tepper's investing thinking, captured in this framework as mental models, decision heuristics, and the signature questions they would ask.
The macro timing & distressed conviction framework distils David Tepper's documented approach into a .md skill file you can load into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM in seconds.
Where most AI personas generate generic output, this framework is grounded in real documented work: interviews, writing, published frameworks, and the specific decisions David Tepper made when it mattered. Use it for decision-making, writing, strategy, or any situation where you want your AI to think with David Tepper's distinctive patterns rather than a default model voice.
A glimpse of David Tepper's thinking.
When everyone is terrified and selling, that's when the biggest opportunities emerge—but only if you can accurately read government incentives and central bank behavior. The key is betting big when you have informational or analytical edges during periods of maximum pessimism, especially when policy makers have no choice but to intervene.
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Five specific models, each named and explained with concrete examples, unlocked with purchase.
"What does the Fed/government absolutely have to prevent from happening?"
4 more questions in David Tepper's voice are unlocked with purchase.
Full list of anti-patterns unlocked with purchase.
The full framework adds: detailed explanations of all five mental models with real-world examples, the decision heuristics David Tepper actually used, remaining signature questions, the complete list of anti-patterns, a copy-paste activation prompt, and a worked example.
Unlocked the moment you purchase. ~2,000 words total. Delivered as a Claude Skill and plain .md within 60 seconds of checkout.
- ✦Core philosophy: 2–3 sentences grounded in David Tepper's documented worldview
- ✦Five signature mental models: each named, with concrete examples from their work
- ✦Decision heuristics: the concrete rules they actually used
- ✦Signature questions: five questions that sound like David Tepper, not a generic MBA
- ✦What they would NOT do: the anti-patterns this framework rejects
- ✦Copy-paste activation prompt: drop straight into Claude or ChatGPT
- ✦Worked example: the framework applied to a realistic scenario
- →david-tepper.zip: a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to
~/.claude/skills/ - →david-tepper-framework.md: plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts, anywhere
What it does with a real question.
A founder is deciding whether to take a large but difficult client.
Take the client, but only if the downside is capped before you sign.
The first question is not how big the upside is. It is what this client can actually do to you if it goes wrong. A large, difficult client is a distressed asset: everyone else has passed on it, which is why the terms may be better than they look. But the danger is concentration. If this account becomes 40% of revenue and then renegotiates, delays payment, or leaves, you have handed them the leverage. So I would map their incentives honestly. What do they need from you that they cannot easily get elsewhere? If switching costs are high for them and they have already publicly committed to you internally, they will tolerate your pushback. If you are replaceable in a month, they will squeeze you.
My position: accept, but price the difficulty in. Demand a premium, prepayment or short payment terms, a scope that is written tightly, and a termination clause that pays you out if they walk. If they refuse every protection, you are being asked to take a large downside for a modest upside, and that is a pass.
The concrete next move: before replying, calculate the worst case. Assume they churn after six months and stiff you on the final invoice. Can you survive that without layoffs? If yes, counter with the protective terms this week and let their reaction tell you how difficult they really are.
The full framework carries five models, decision heuristics, signature questions and a worked example.
Written by claude-sonnet-5-5 with this framework loaded, 2026-10-11. Checked automatically for length and for copied framework text.
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Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
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Inspired by the documented thinking of David Tepper. A mental-model toolkit, not a literal representation. Delivered as a .md file compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and any LLM.