In this paper we approach the problem of designing the VQ codebook from a different point of view (substantially improving what proposed in [l] and[2]): after having evaluated a priori the effects produced by any possible single vector redistribution among clusters, we choose and apply the least distortion one. This way of looking at the problem with "new eyes", though quite immediate and simple in its formulation, provides powerful tools for devising a variety of new algorithms and procedures. The intrinsic property of the algorithm, assuring fast convergence in terms of number of iterations, has been fruitfully combined with a suitable speedup procedures leading to a drastic complexity reduction. The performances, measured within applications to image coding, prove the algorithm to be up to 50 times faster than the GLA method increasing Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) at knee of nearly 1 dB.