Definition

The daily operator-decision mechanism at the per-shift altitude. On every decision, the operator either adds value — Plus — or defaults — Minus. There is no third option, no neutral Zero.

Explanation

The name carries a trap inside it. Operators believe in Zero — a decision that costs nothing and changes nothing. [Zero Plus Minus] names the trap and closes it: every decision either compounds forward or compounds backward, and the belief in a costless middle is what keeps operators from noticing which one they just chose.

The mechanism runs at the altitude of the daily decision, not the annual plan. A single Plus or Minus is small. The pattern across a shift, a week, a period is what the math tracks — and the math is the same compounding logic that runs [Relational Compounding] and [Transactional Contraction] at longer timescales. Zero Plus Minus is that logic at the granularity the operator actually lives in.

The operator who thinks they’re standing still is running Minus and calling it Zero. Naming the mechanism removes the cover.