The relevance of the presented research is determined by the need to find effective strategic ways to bring the economy out of the current economic crisis. The purpose of the presented research is to determine, from a theoretical and methodological perspective, the search for effective strategic ways to bring the economy out of the current economic crisis, based on the experience of solution options accumulated in the family of strategic management schools. The scientific novelty of the results obtained lies in the demonstration of theoretical and methodological positions based on the historical example of the entry of the Japanese company Honda into the American car market and a comparative analysis of the description of this process by supporters of the design school and the school of strategic management education, who claim the truth when describing the reasons for the success of Honda in the American market , in the objective need to use, in conditions of an economic crisis, descriptive schools of strategic management, which involve a preliminary description of ongoing events in unstable, poorly predictable market conditions. Using a specific historical example, it is demonstrated that the use of prescriptive schools of strategic management ensures high efficiency only in economically stable market conditions. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the possibility of their use in the formation and implementation of strategies for overcoming the current economic crisis at the micro-, meso- and macroeconomic levels. In particular, this concerns the following aspects of strategic management: the choice of prescriptive and descriptive schools for the formation of management strategies is determined primarily by the level of economic stability in the economy; the perception of the management strategy itself as a strategy for the production and promotion of goods on the market; insufficient competence and diligence of customers, multiplied by the advertising of consulting successes on the market, leaves the latter with quite acceptable (from the point of view of the profitability of the services provided) market opportunities in the field of strategic management.