If Microsoft fails in the mobile phone industry, it will be for lack of confidence

Here’s a quote from the head of the Windows Phone unit at Microsoft:

“So, I think that what our strategy is is to put things in place that allow us to leapfrog, and I think that’s how we’ve gone from worse browser to the best browser, and I think the same is true with hardware.”

It’s not a statement that will fill investors or potential Windows Phone buyers with a ton of confidence. I think.

There is a personality and a swagger that is attached to mobile phones. It happens on the user end and is often a result of the confidence exuded from the top. When Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone, there was zero doubt that he believed he had in his hands the greatest, most revolutionary piece of technology the world had ever seen. It didn’t matter that other phones had more features or better software at the time – he simply knew it was about to change the way we perceive phones, and he was right.

Whether it comes from Steve Ballmer or Lees, there has never been the world-beater attitude coming down from the top at Microsoft for the mobile market. Even their recent unveiling of Windows 8 seemed hesitant. One got the impression they thought they had something great on there hands but it wasn’t a certainty.

With Apple, they’re certain about everything.

Even Google has started to adopt more of this type of attitude since Larry Page became CEO.

People want confidence. They want to know that the people who build the products they buy believe in their hearts that they have something special to offer. Microsoft’s recently-stated goal of being “a solid No. 3 platform and a viable alternative to Apple and Android” is weak. It is the type of attitude that could keep them down and sabotage their goal even if they are able to put out superior software on superior devices.

“We’re not making specific predictions but I think that our momentum is going to build,” Lees said.

That’s not the kind of statement that Steve Jobs would have made. If Microsoft fails at this, it will not be because of technology. It will be because they don’t passionately and whole-heartedly believe that they belong in the race. It shows.