EN
We characterize the bounded linear operators T in Hilbert space which satisfy T = βI + (1-β)S where β ∈ (0,1) and S is a contraction. The characterizations include a quadratic form inequality, and a domination condition of the discrete semigroup $(Tⁿ)_{n=1,2,...}$ by the continuous semigroup $(e^{-t(I-T)})_{t≥0}$. Moreover, we give a stronger quadratic form inequality which ensures that $sup {n∥Tⁿ - T^{n+1}∥: n = 1,2,...} < ∞$. The results apply to large classes of Markov operators on countable spaces or on locally compact groups.