From what everyone's said I think we can all agree that the act of goal setting is not the problem, but the way in which it's done and the reasons for doing it.
I think the core of this discussion is that to be effective, goal setting (and the process of achieving the goal) should come naturally, effortlessly, and in this way
appears to remove the need for precision planning. That's why Tom, and many other people, don't get anywhere when they get worked up about the goals they set for themselves. It becomes a chore, rather than something enjoyable and invigorating, as Shamou pointed out. As Silicon Toad said, just pointing yourself in the right direction can often be enough.
Xin, you've mentioned character, and alluded to self-awareness. Kaspian pointed out that the experience of setting goals is totally different when in line with your life's purpose. I think it's that directed passion, fueled by self-awareness and quality of character, that makes the experience so different.
So in summary I think what we're saying is that if you are passionate enough, and have a clear destination in mind, you don't
need to set rigid goals which precisely plan out every step. But there is generally some element of planning involved, and often a great deal of effort (especially for things that are truly worthwhile), however with clarity of purpose and fueled by passion you can set and execute those plans, and reach those goals, all without stress, enjoying every moment. (well, almost every moment)
This is similar to what I said on
my blog. Explicit goal setting can be helpful, but is not necessary, and passion is far more important.
What I didn't get into is the ways in which precision goal setting can be helpful. Probably because I don't have much need for it. But I can imagine that someone who is extremely busy, and who has a lot of different activities to perform, and many different items to keep track of, would find it very difficult to get enough done without some form of precision planning, no matter how passionate they are. A vital tool for some... *nod to x3r0bug*